Abstract: This experiment took the tuber seedlings of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. Wanlou 9, Wanlou 17 and Wanlou 20 as materials to study the establishment of a shoot tip virus-free culture system for Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim., and evaluated the types of viral infection and the virus elimination effect of shoot tip culture on Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. in Wuhan area. The results showed that the optimal disinfection method for explants was treatment with 0.1% mercuric chloride solution for 5 minutes, with a survival rate of 71.1% and a contamination rate of 0. MS was the optimal basic medium for the primary culture of shoot tips, and the best hormone combination was MS + 1.0 mg/L 6-BA + 0.2 mg/L NAA. After 30 days of subculture for proliferation of adventitious buds on the medium of MS + 1.0 mg/L 6-BA + 0.1 mg/L NAA + 0.1 mg/L KT, the average bud proliferation coefficient reached 7.97. The test-tube plantlets achieved the highest rooting rate of 86.7% on the MS medium supplemented with 0.6 mg/L IBA. The field virus-carrying rates of Cucurbit mild mottle mosaic virus (CuMMV) in Wanlou 9 and Wanlou 17 were 76% and 61%, respectively; after shoot tip virus-free culture, the virus-carrying rate of both cultivars decreased to 0, with a virus elimination rate of 100%. The field virus-carrying rates of Zucchini green mottle mosaic virus (ZGMMV) in Wanlou 9 and Wanlou 17 were 88% and 87%, respectively; after virus elimination via shoot tip culture, the virus-carrying rates dropped to 0 and 4%, with the virus elimination rates reaching 100% and 96%, respectively. In conclusion, this study successfully established a rapid propagation and virus-free system for Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim based on micro-shoot tip culture.

Key words: Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim., shoot tip culture, tissue culture, virus elimination rate