Development of a Quality Assurance Process for in vitro Micropropagation of Carnivorous Plants

Les Serres de Paolo Inc. specializes in the production of carnivorous plants, and is currently enjoying great success. The growing demand for these ornamental plants is now becoming a challenge for the company, particularly in terms of supplying seeds, cuttings and seedlings, which often come from outside Canada. The company therefore wishes to become self-sufficient by generating its own seedlings via in vitro micropropagation, and has called on Biopterre to develop these protocols. However, this method can generate genetic variations, mainly as a result of mutations during in vitro culture. The present project therefore aims to develop methods to ensure quality control of plants derived from micropropagation, such as through the use of DNA markers. Les Serres de Paolo Inc. and Biopterre are considering a combination of molecular techniques to optimize their advantages while limiting their disadvantages. In addition, the information obtained by these molecular methods will also be used to study the development of new phenotypes of carnivorous plants. This project will be supported by Biopterre's expertise and equipment in molecular biology.