Question

What is somatic embryogenesis?

Answer 1

Plant embryogenesis is the asymmetric cell division and differentiation of undifferentiated cells into mature tissues and organs that results in the formation of an embryo from a zygote. Plant embryogenesis is the process of producing a fully grown plant embryo after an ovule has been fertilised. This is a crucial stage in the plant's life cycle, following hibernation and germination.

Complete answer:
A method of creating an embryo from a single somatic cell or a collection of somatic cells. Plant cells that aren't ordinarily involved in embryo production are used to create somatic embryos (SEs). Embryoids are the embryos produced through somatic embryogenesis.

Somatic embryogenesis is the creation of a plant or embryo from a single somatic cell in a laboratory setting. Plant cells that are not ordinarily engaged in the development of embryos, i.e. regular plant tissue, are used to create somatic embryos. A somatic embryo does not develop endosperm or a seed coat.

Cells obtained from healthy donor tissue are grown to generate a callus, which is an undifferentiated mass of cells. Plant growth regulators can be controlled in the tissue culture media to induce callus formation, and then modified to induce embryos to form the callus. Depending on the type of plant, the ratio of different plant growth regulators necessary to trigger callus or embryo production varies.

Somatic embryos are mostly created in vitro and in the laboratory, employing plant growth regulators (PGRs) in either solid or liquid nutritional media. Auxins are the most common PGRs, however cytokinin can also be found in modest amounts. Shoots and roots are monopolar, however somatic embryos are bipolar, allowing them to create a whole plant without the need for different media. Somatic embryogenesis has been used as a model to better understand the physiological and biochemical events that occur during plant development, as well as a component of biotechnological progress. Steward et al. in 1958 and Reinert in 1959 were the first to document somatic embryogenesis using carrots and Reinert in 1959 with carrot cell suspension cultures.

Induction, maintenance, development, and regeneration are the four critical processes in the process of somatic embryogenesis.

Note:-
The introduction of somatic embryogenesis methods has sparked interest in woody plant seed storage proteins (SSPs) for commercially important tree species, primarily gymnosperms like white spruce. In seedlings, abscisic acid has been shown to stimulate somatic embryogenesis. Culturing on a low auxin or hormone-free media after callus formation promotes somatic embryo growth and root production. Embryogenic capability in monocots is usually limited to tissues of embryogenic or meristematic origin.