Liquid Culture Systems for in vitro Plant Propagation

Chapter 22
Picea abies somatic embryo development from suspension
cultures and agar-based cultures: a comparison
Christopher Hunter & Lionel Levy
University of the West of England, Frenchay, Bristol BS16 1QY, England.
E-mail: Christopher.Hunter@uwe.ac.uk
Abstract: Embryogenic suspensor mass derived from a zygotic embryo cotyledon of Picea
abies (L.) Karst. was propagated either in suspension culture or on agar-based 'proliferation
medium’ (Vagner, 1998), then transferred to agar-based 'maturation medium’ for the
development of somatic embryos. The 'maturation' medium was supplemented with silver
nitrate at either 0, 1, 10 or 100µmol. Cultures were transferred to fresh medium weekly, for 10
weeks, during which numerical and photographic records of somatic embryo development
were kept for each culture (n = 14 for each treatment). For cultures originating from both
suspension and agar-based systems, there was approximately a two to three-fold increase in
the number of Stage IV somatic embryos in media that had been supplemented with silver
nitrate.
Key words: embryogenic suspensor mass (ESM), mass-propagation, silver nitrate
Abbreviations: COST - EU Action in Co-operation in Science and Technology;
DW – dry weight; ESM - embryogenic suspensor mass; FW – fresh weight; SE - somatic
embryo
1. Introduction
Picea abies (L.) Karst. remains the backbone of much European forestry
both for timber and paper pulp. Whilst selected tree provenances provide
seed-tree populations which give rise to seedling-derived forests with
enhanced agronomic properties, the mass-propagation of elite genotypes of
P. abies through somatic embryogenesis remains a target for large-scale
plantings of mixed clones. Systems that enhance the numbers and quality of
propagules contribute to that objective and much work has been undertaken
investigating various media and growing techniques in vitro to enhance
propagule yields.
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A.K. Hvoslef-Eide and W. Preil (eds.), Liquid Culture Systems for in vitro Plant Propagation, 303–312.
© 2005 Springer. Printed in the Netherlands.