Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2025)

In vitro shoot regeneration potential of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms): A study on an invasive aquatic weed

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.8722
Submitted
7 April 2025
Published
29-07-2025 — Updated on 06-08-2025
Versions

Abstract

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms) is a fast-growing aquatic plant recognized as a highly invasive weed, posing substantial economic, ecological and social threats. This study evaluates the invasive spread rate of water hyacinth through the plant tissue culture method - culturing the apical and lateral buds separately at different stages to investigate the regenerative ability of Eichhornia crassipes. [Mart.] Solms shoots. Additionally, this study evaluated the potential for sexual reproduction from water hyacinth seeds at different stages. After four weeks of culture, a double-layered MS medium (solid agar base with a liquid overlay) under aerobic conditions, supplemented with 0.75 mg/L benzyladenine (BA) and 0.25 mg/L naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), was found to be optimal for in vitro growth of water hyacinth buds and seeds. The invasive spread rate of water hyacinth is based on both vegetative propagation from buds and sexual reproduction from seeds. The strongest regeneration from the apical buds and axillary buds with stolon and rootlets reached the highest rate of 60 %. The highest germination reached 40 % from water hyacinth fruit at stage 4 - the stage when the flower turns dark brown.

References

  1. 1. Nandiyanto AB, Fiandini M, Al Husaeni DN. Research trends from the scopus database using keyword water hyacinth and ecosystem: A bibliometric literature review. ASEAN Journal of Science and Engineering. 2024;4(1):33–48. https://doi.org/10.17509/ajse.v4i1
  2. 2. Villamagna AM, Murphy BR. Ecological and socio-economic impacts of invasive water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes): A review. Freshwater Biology. 2010;55(2):282–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02294.x
  3. 3. Ajithram A, Jappes JW, Brintha NC. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) natural composite extraction methods and properties - A review. Materials Today: Proceedings. 2021;45:1626–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.08.472
  4. 4. Wilson RJ, Gutiérrez D, Gutiérrez J, Martínez D, Agudo R, Monserrat VJ. Changes to the elevational limits and extent of species ranges associated with climate change. Ecology Letters. 2005;8(11):1138–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00824.x
  5. 5. Mitchell DS. African aquatic weeds and their management. In: Denny P, editor. The Ecology and Management of African Wetland Vegetation: A Botanical Account of African Swamps and Shallow Waterbodies. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer; 1985. p. 177–202.
  6. 6. Barrett SC, Forno IW. Style morph distribution in new world populations of Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms -Laubach (water hyacinth). Aquatic Botany. 1982;13:299–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3770(82)90065-1
  7. 7. Vaz LR, Borges AC, Ribeiro DM. Exogenous auxin and gibberellin on fluoride phytoremediation by Eichhornia crassipes. Plants. 2023;12(8):1624. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12081624
  8. 8. Reddy KR, Agami M, d'Angelo EM, Tucker JC. Influence of potassium supply on growth and nutrient storage by water hyacinth. Bioresource Technology. 1991;37(1):79–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/0960-8524(91)90114-Y
  9. 9. Gebregiorgis FY. Management of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms) using bioagents in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia. PhD [Dissertation]. Wageningen University; 2017.
  10. 10. Wright AD, Purcell MF. Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solm-Laubach. In: Groves RH, Shepherd RC, Richardson RG, editors. The Biology of Australian Weeds. Melbourne; 1995. p. 111–21.
  11. 11. Gopal B. Water hyacinth. Elsevier Science Publishers; 1987.
  12. 12. Karouach F, Ben Bakrim W, Ezzariai A, Sobeh M, Kibret M, Yasri A, et al. A comprehensive evaluation of the existing approaches for controlling and managing the proliferation of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). Frontiers in Environmental Science. 2022;9:767871. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.767871
  13. 13. Adhikary D, Kulkarni M, El-Mezawy A, Mobini S, Elhiti M, Gjuric R, et al. Medical Cannabis and industrial hemp tissue culture: Present status and future potential. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2021;12:627240. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.627240
  14. 14. Bhaskar R, Xavier LS, Udayakumaran G, Kumar DS, Venkatesh R, Nagella P. Biotic elicitors: A boon for the in vitro production of plant secondary metabolites. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture. 2022;149(1–2):7–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-021-02131-1
  15. 15. Delgado-Paredes GE, Vásquez-Díaz C, Esquerre-Ibañez B, Bazán-Sernaqué P, Rojas-Idrogo C. In vitro tissue culture in plants propagation and germplasm conservation of economically important species in Peru. Scientia Agropecuaria. 2021;12(3):337–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.17268/sci.agropecu.2021.037
  16. 16. Aliabad FA, Habbab E, Bello AM. Evaluation of the ability to measure morphological structures of plants obtained from tissue culture applying image processing techniques. Research Square.2023. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3153365/v1
  17. 17. Thoa TT, Viet BT, Kiet DT. Survey of factors (sodium chloride, acid acetic, shadow, cutting) affect to the spreading of water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms. International Invention of Scientific Journal. 2021;5(05):1–13. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7813294
  18. 18. Wawrosch C, Zotchev SB. Production of bioactive plant secondary metabolites through in vitro technologies status and outlook. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2021;105(18): 6649–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11539-w
  19. 19. Thoa TT, Viet BT, Kiet DT. Effect of phytohormones on in vitro bud and root formation of the water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes. Bioscience Biotechnology Research Communications. 2022;15(4):490–5. http://dx.doi.org/10.21786/bbrc/15.4.3
  20. 20. Udanor CN, Akaneme F, Ukekwe E. Deploying plant tissue culture simulation use case for e-infrastructures. International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in Technology. 2021;7(3):1475–80.
  21. 21. Malabadi RB, Nethravathi TL, Kolkar KP, Chalannavar RK, Mudigoudra BS, Lavanya L, et al. Cannabis sativa: applications of artificial intelligence and plant tissue culture for micropropagation. International Journal of Research and Innovations in Applied Science. 2023;8(6):117–42. https://doi.org/10.51584/IJRIAS.2023.8614
  22. 22. Monthony AS, Page SR, Hesami M, Jones AM. The past, present and future of Cannabis sativa tissue culture. Plants. 2021;10(1):185. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants 10010185
  23. 23. Teixeira da Silva JA, Nezami-Alanagh E, Barreal ME, Kher MM, Wicaksono A, Gulyás A, et al. Shoot tip necrosis of in vitro plant cultures: a reappraisal of possible causes and solutions. Planta. 2020;252:1–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-020-03449-4
  24. 24. Bednarek PT, Orłowska R. Plant tissue culture environment as a switch-key of (epi) genetic changes. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture. 2020;140(2):245–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-019-01724-1
  25. 25. Pasternak TP, Steinmacher D. Plant growth regulation in cell and tissue culture in vitro. Plants. 2024;13(2):327. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13020327
  26. 26. Shi M, Liao P, Nile SH, Georgiev MI, Kai G. Biotechnological exploration of transformed root culture for value-added products. Trends in Biotechnology. 2021;39(2):137–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.06.012
  27. 27. Mehbub H, Akter A, Akter MA, Mandal MS, Hoque MA, Tuleja M, et al. Tissue culture in ornamentals: Cultivation factors, propagation techniques and its application. Plants. 2022;11(23):3208. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11233208
  28. 28. Li T, Hu J, Sun Y, Li B, Zhang D, Li W, et al. Highly efficient heritable genome editing in wheat using an RNA virus and bypassing tissue culture. Molecular Plant. 2021;14(11):1787–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2021.07.010
  29. 29. Strobbe S, Verstraete J, Fitzpatrick TB, Stove C, Van Der Straeten D. A protocol for a turbidimetric assay using a Saccharomyces cerevisiae thiamin biosynthesis mutant to estimate total vitamin B1 content in plant tissue samples. Plant Methods. 2023;19(1):144. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-023-01117-8
  30. 30. Morinaka H, Coleman D, Sugimoto K, Iwase A. Molecular mechanisms of plant regeneration from differentiated cells: approaches from historical tissue culture systems. Plant and Cell Physiology. 2023;64(3):297–304. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcac172

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.