Somatic Embryogenesis Induction and Plant Regeneration in Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo L.)

Abstract

Somatic embryogenesis is a powerful tool both for cloning and studies of genetic transformation and embryo development. Most protocols for somatic embryogenesis induction start from zygotic embryos or embryonic-derived tissues which do not allow the propagation of elite trees. In the present study, a reliable protocol for somatic embryogenesis induction from adult trees of strawberry tree is described. Leaves from in vitro proliferating shoots were used to induce somatic embryo formation on a medium containing an auxin and a cytokinin. Somatic embryos germinated in a plant growth regulator-free medium.

Shoot proliferation and organogenesis on Arbutus unedo: physiological analysis under water stress

“…Abbreviations: BA -benzylaminopurine; ci -intercellular CO2 concentration; E -transpiration rate; Fv/Fm -variable to maximum fluorescence ratio; gs -stomatal conductance; IBA -indole-3-butyric acid; PN -net photosynthetic rate; TDZ -thidiazuron; WS -water stress; WW -well watered; Ψ -water potential; PS II -maximum yield of photosystem II. Martins et al 2015Martins et al , 2016. Several protocols for strawberry tree cloning through axillary shoot proliferation (Mereti et al 2002, Gomes and Canhoto 2009, Gomes et al 2010, and somatic embryogenesis (Martins 2012, Martins et al 2015, 2016 have been developed.…”

“…Martins et al 2015Martins et al , 2016. Several protocols for strawberry tree cloning through axillary shoot proliferation (Mereti et al 2002, Gomes and Canhoto 2009, Gomes et al 2010, and somatic embryogenesis (Martins 2012, Martins et al 2015, 2016 have been developed. In this work, a new protocol for strawberry tree shoot proliferation in liquid medium and organogenesis was developed, and different micropropagation methods were tested, and their potential for mass scale propagation was evaluated.…”

Application of Somatic Embryogenesis in Woody Plants.

“…Conventional methods of propagation cannot preserve elite strawberry tree genotypes. Somatic embryogenesis is able to overcome this problem by using of leaves from adult trees to induce somatic embryos ( Martins et al, 2016 ). Alders species are of minor importance in economic terms, but do have ecological value through land reclamation and reforestation.…”

Hybridization Assays in Strawberry Tree Towards the Identification of Plants Displaying Increased Drought Tolerance

“…Thus, early selection decisions are currently only based on productivity/fruit quality traits. Considering the increasing demand of high quality plant stocks of A. unedo, in vitro propagation protocols were developed to cloning selected genotypes [6][7][8] and studies to evaluate how these in vitro propagation systems change drought tolerance of regenerated plants have been carried out [9].…”