The spermidine promotes maturation and tissue differentiation of somatic embryos of Euterpe edulis Martius, an endangered Atlantic Forest species: Spermidine boosts juçara embryogenesis

• Published in: In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Plant 2024, Vol.60 (6), p.891-902
• Main Authors: Costa, Joana Silva, de Mello, Tamyris, Fagundes, Débora Pellanda, Silva, Tatiane Dulcineia, de Araujo, Caroline Palacio, Simões, Ingridh Medeiros, de Almeida, Mariana Ribeiro, Cade, Eduardo Santos, de Assis, João Pedro Vieira Fraga, Schmildt, Edilson Romais, Otoni, Wagner Campos, Khoddamzadeh, Amir Ali, Santa-Catarina, Claudete, Alexandre, Rodrigo Sobreira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Developmental Biology; Life Sciences; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Sciences; Plant Tissue Culture
• ISSN: 1054-5476; 1475-2689
• DOI: 10.1007/s11627-024-10473-6

Euterpe edulis Martius (Arecaceae) faces a threat of extinction due to the excessive exploitation of its heart of palm. Compounded by its slow germination and the challenging nature of its seeds, there is an urgent need to explore alternative propagation methods. Somatic embryogenesis emerges as a promising alternative, offering the potential to generate somatic embryos from a single explant. Given the importance of maturing somatic embryos in this process, there is an active search for molecules capable of stimulating this stage of embryogenesis. This study aimed to assess the impact of polyamines, spermidine and spermine, on the differentiation of embryonic tissues and the maturation of somatic embryos in Euterpe edulis . The embryogenic callus were treated with different concentrations of spermine and spermidine (0, 50.0, 100.0, and 150.0 μM). Spermidine (150.0 μM) resulted in a greater number (8.67 per embryogenic callus) of somatic embryos and a greater presence of formation zones for these embryos. Moreover, it facilitated the progression of these to the last stage of development, with 80.42% of the embryos formed being converted to the final stage and 100% the embryos being regenerated into normal seedlings. Somatic embryos exhibited either a unicellular or multicellular origin, contingent upon the presence or absence of basal cells, respectively, and their developmental trajectory was asynchronous. Intensive cell division stimulated by spermidine resulted in the emergence of promeristems, initiating the formation of primary meristems such as the protoderm and procambium. In view of this it follows that 150.0 μM spermidine stimulated the maturation of somatic embryos in E. edulis .