cloning palms: would you be interested?

[awkonradi]

Hi, I'm Andrei Konradi, and I'm a palm novice, but I'm also a biotech nerd. I've been reading about cloning palms, mostly oil palms and date palms. The techniques don't seem too difficult, and I think I could get access to the necessary equipment and reagents. Would any of you with unique palm specimens, maybe hybrids or special phenotypes, be interested in collaborating? Small leaf cuttings would be required. I have in mind an amateur, non-profit, for-fun project. I have attached a journal article which describes a cloning technique for Phoenix dactylifera.

Best to all,

Andrei W. Konradi

30 Victoria Rd

Burlingame, CA 94010

USA

awkonradi@yahoo.com

1181-1188.pdf

[sarasota alex]

I think this stuff is pretty cool. Maybe this could be used to clone Hyophorbe amaricaulis

[edbrown_III]

I think this stuff is pretty cool. Maybe this could be used to clone Hyophorbe amaricaulis

certainly.... Jubeopsis caffra

[MattyB]

Sounds like a cool idea. I don't have anything that would fit the profile, but I'm sure someone here does.

[AggiePalms]

Hey for the fun of it and to see what happens, let's go for it. Free science is always good! But I am always concerned about any DNA tampering getting back into nature. I don't see that as a problem with this project, but I think we should keep it in mind before setting loose hordes of horrible, aggressive, lethal spiny palm clones! Such as Phoenix deepo-puncturum or Bactris mega-espinosa giganteous. The list of these zombie palms could go on forever. Did I mention Zombie palms, like Zombia antillarum un-morte?

[Dypsisdean]

BS Man, get him a piece of a Dypsis "white stem."

[MattyB]

Ohhhh shnap! Great idea DeanO. Do it do it do it, that's the palm that needs to be experimented on.

[Jim in Los Altos]

BS Man, get him a piece of a Dypsis "white stem."

Ooo. A lot of us would be interested in that one!

[Walter John]

oh yeah, next we'll have dinosaurs crappin' all over the place, yeah, all for science hey..tcch

[BS Man about Palms]

I like that plan...

Now to sneak back into the poolhouse..

But Len or Gary have a better chance..

[rprimbs]

Could you clone some cycads too? I'd like some Encephalartos woodii, some E. hirsutis, some E. heenanii, some E. brevifoliolatus, and a few more that I will think of.

I could also think of some great palm trees to clone. The ones that are hard to germinate from seed.

I suppose that they would get off to a bit of a slow start but that could be made up for by the volume!

[Cycadcenter]

Could you clone some cycads too? I'd like some Encephalartos woodii, some E. hirsutis, some E. heenanii, some E. brevifoliolatus, and a few more that I will think of.

I could also think of some great palm trees to clone. The ones that are hard to germinate from seed.

I suppose that they would get off to a bit of a slow start but that could be made up for by the volume!

There already is a very well setup private lab in San Diego who are currently trying to do encephalartos TC.

Hopefully they will have some results by the end of the year.

Bruce

The Cycad Center

Fallbrook CA

(760) 723-8092

[Erik]

Andrei,

how about cloning cold-hardy palms that are unusually cold hardy? Let me know if that would interest you. --Erik

[rprimbs]

Could you clone some cycads too? I'd like some Encephalartos woodii, some E. hirsutis, some E. heenanii, some E. brevifoliolatus, and a few more that I will think of.

I could also think of some great palm trees to clone. The ones that are hard to germinate from seed.

I suppose that they would get off to a bit of a slow start but that could be made up for by the volume!

There already is a very well setup private lab in San Diego who are currently trying to do encephalartos TC.

Hopefully they will have some results by the end of the year.

Bruce

The Cycad Center

Fallbrook CA

(760) 723-8092

Bruce,

I didn't realize that there was a lab working on it down here. I discussed it years ago with Pamela Moon in Florida. Tom Broome had contacted her about it. She said that it's basically a matter of experimenting until you find the right combination of chemicals -- under a laminar flow hood (Which constantly blows filtered air out so that no contaminates can get in).

But you know people have propagated cycads from "leaves" -- which include the petiole and a little bit of scar tissue from the trunk. I read about a guy who did that with a Microcycas. It would be interesting to try using a "bubble" propagator -- like the marijuana growers use.

[PalmGuyWC]

I don't think the cloning of ornamental palms will ever be a viable process. The process is way to complicated and expensive for the demand that would be required, even it was "just for fun," unless there is a billionaire out there who would finance it. Also the meristematic tissue that would be required would destroy the palm that it was collected from, unless it was a clustering palm.

The best bet for unusual cold hardy palms are the hybrids and there are plenty of them available now.

Dick

[Lowey]

oh yeah, next we'll have dinosaurs crappin' all over the place, yeah, all for science hey..tcch

I almost wet myself with laughter Wal

Very interesting idea Andrei, keep us up to date if you go ahead withit at all

[aussiearoids]

variegated Licuala grandis would be nice , but variegation is a bit tricky sometimes with TC

[awkonradi]

I still need to retrieve more scientific literature. But, I think a low volume process, much less involved than that described in the paper I attached, should be possible. Clearly, under sterile conditions and in the right growth medium, tiny pieces of date palm leaves can be induced to restart cell division, and then form "seedlings". For me, an ideal partner would be a San Francisco Bay Area resident, expert in nurturing palm seedlings, who has a prized hybrid or other "genetically cool" palm, they think would be fun to propagate. I say San Francisco Bay Area resident, because I think it would be best to get the leaf cuttings sterilized and onto the growth medium as quickly as possible. Again, this is just for fun and nerdy coolness.

rprimbs, I haven't read about cycads.

Erik, I would be happy to try any kind of palm. Relatedness to date palms and oil palms might be a technical plus.

Dick, the paper says the following, which obviously is brutalization of the "parent" date palm. Do you think "young leaves" might be "removed from the shoot apex" in a less brutal way?

"Using a hatchet and a serrated knife, offshoot leaves and fiber sheaths were removed acropetally. Young leaves 1-3 cm in length were removed from shoot apex after all mature leaves were removed away. To prevent explants browning, 60 young leaves were transferred to 1-l Erlenmeyer flask containing 500 ml of an antioxidant solution (150 mg.l-1 citric acid and 150 mg.l-1 ascorbic acid) for 30 min and then cut into explants (≤ 5 mm long) using a sharp sterilized blade."

[Mandrew968]

My neighbor has already done this--he has about 40 palms and they are all EXACTLY ALIKE! Who wants nothing but adonidia merrilliis in their yard?!

[Xenon]

Lodoicea....variegated Licuala is nice too

[Palmə häl′ik]

I vote to clone the coconut. It's usefullness come to mind...

[Dewayne in Ticolandia]

Cloning palms is NOT easy.

[Nigel]

I looked into this as a business propostion some 3 or 4 years ago, and made enquiries to some cloners involved.

The response was that the difficulty is not in cloning but in the weaning process. Some palms like phoenix and oil palms respond but others do not wean.

I was told it was not a viable process.

There is cloning facilities here in Brasil with governemnt subsidy but we got pretty much same reply.

[Zayin]

Good for you Andrei. Don't listen to naysayers and those that would say it is impossible for whatever reason. Keep up the research and keep us informed on your progress!

[Xenon]

That's a very interesting article Andrei, even though I don't understand most of it.

Good Luck!

Jonathan

Edited March 12, 2011 by Xenon