Tissue Culture of Calla Lily (Zantedeschia spreng.): An Updated Review on the Present Scenario and Future Prospects

The calla lily (Zantedeschia spreng.) is a bulbous flower native to the tropical regions of Africa. Calla lily has gained significant popularity in the international market owing to its intricate morphology and prolonged flowering duration. Despite such advantages, for two sub-groups of calla lily, known as group Zantedeschia and group Aestivae, there are challenges in terms of hybrid production due to the ‘plastome-genome incompatibility’ therebetween. Tissue culture is a fundamental biotechnological tool used in gene editing research, with a focus on disease resistance and flower color in calla lily breeding programs. The present review provides a brief background on the history and development of the calla lily, as well as a comprehensive and critical summary of calla lily tissue culture research. The regeneration pathways for both group Zantedeschia and group Aestivae can be divided into de novo organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis. Both groups are capable of obtaining replants through such means. However, only some species in group Aestivae have been reported to be successful in the somatic embryogenesis pathway. In the present review, special attention was paid to the influence of explant types, plant growth regulators, and culture conditions on both de novo organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis in calla lily tissue culture. Ultimately, future research prospects were determined based on integrated analysis of recent progress in calla lily tissue culture research.