Calcium increases the yield of somatic embryos in carrot embryogenic suspension cultures

✍ Scribed by Marcel A. K. Jansen; Hilbert Booij; Jan H. N. Schel; Sacco C. Vries

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 316 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0721-7714
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00232184

✦ Synopsis

An upward shift in the concentration of calcium present in the medium during somatic embryogenesis increased the number of embryos produced approximately two-fold. This was observed when embryogenic suspension cells grown in 2,4-D medium with the normal calcium concentration of 10(-3) M were transferred to hormone-free medium containing 10(-2) M calcium and when embryogenic suspension cells grown in 2,4-D medium containing 10(-4) M calcium were transferred to hormone-free medium with 10(-3) M calcium. At calcium concentrations between 6·10(-3) and 10(-2) M globular stage somatic embryos were found in cultures supplemented with 2·10(-6) M of 2,4-D indicating that elevated calcium counteracts the inhibitory effect of 2,4-D on somatic embryogenesis. No qualitative changes were found in the pattern of extracellular polypeptides as a result of growth and embryogenesis in media with different calcium concentrations.