Mahsa Rashidi - Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University, Damghan Branch, Damghan, Iran.
Ali Saremi-Rad - PhD student of Plant Breeding, Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Young Researchers and Elite Club, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
Peyman Froozesh - Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch, Karaj, Iran.
Vali Ollah Ghasemo Omran - Genetic and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute of Tabarestan, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource University, Sari, Iran.

We investigated in vitro regeneration ability of Fittonia verschaffeltii using different explants (leaf, node) and plant growth regulators ((۲,۴-D, indoleacetic acid, indolebutyric acid (IBA), ۶-benzylaminopurine (BAP), thidiazuron)). Percentage of callus induction, number of shoots, shoot length, percentage of rooting and root length were measured. The leaf explant showed higher frequency of callus induction in comparison with the node explant, while node had higher frequency of shoot formation. There were significant differences among plant growth regulators in terms of percentage of callus induction, number of shoots, percentage of rooting and root length, however, the difference was dependent on the type of explant. The highest percentage of callus induction (۸۶.۱۲%) was obtained for the leaf explant at Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with ۱ mg/L ۲,۴-D and ۱ mg/L IBA. The highest number of shoots (۵.۹ per explant) and shoot length (۷.۹۵ cm) were observed for the node explant at MS medium supplemented with ۲ mg/L BAP + ۱ mg/L IBA and MS medium containing ۱mg/L BAP + ۱ mg/L IBA, respectively. The highest percentage of root formation (۸۷%) and root length (۱۰.۱ cm) were obtained at MS medium supplemented with ۰.۲ mg/L IBA and MS medium with no hormones, respectively.

Callus induction, Explant, Fittonia verschaffeltii, In vitro culture, Plant Growth Regulator