Abstract

Somatic embryogenesis is a method of asexual reproduction that can occur naturally in various plant species and is widely used for clonal propagation, transformation and regeneration of different crops. Somatic embryogenesis shares some developmental and physiological similarities with zygotic embryogenesis as it involves common actors of hormonal, transcriptional, developmental and epigenetic controls. Here, we provide an overview of the main signaling pathways involved in the induction and regulation of somatic embryogenesis with a focus on the master regulators of seed development, LEAFY COTYLEDON 1 and 2, ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 3 and FUSCA 3 transcription factors whose precise role during both zygotic and somatic embryogenesis remains to be fully elucidated.

Highlights

  • Sexual reproduction leads to the formation of a seed that contains all the components required for seedling development: the differentiated zygotic embryo which will give rise to the future plant, storage compounds located in the cotyledons, endosperm and/or nucellus depending on the species, all surrounded by a protective tissue, the testa [1]

  • The protocols used for industrial clonal reproduction or for the research on somatic embryos are usually based on indirect somatic embryogenesis (SE), since it allows the production of a large number of somatic embryos [22,23,24] and because direct SE can be ineffective for some species or genotypes, such as Gossypium hirsutum [25], Capsicum chinense Jacq., or Cocos nucifera L. [26]

  • These results suggest that hormones, especially auxin, trigger a general reprogramming of gene expression through chromatin modifications and activation of specific transcription factors

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Summary

Introduction

Sexual reproduction leads to the formation of a seed that contains all the components required for seedling development: the differentiated zygotic embryo which will give rise to the future plant, storage compounds located in the cotyledons, endosperm and/or nucellus depending on the species, all surrounded by a protective tissue, the testa (formed by ovary integuments) [1]. This study focuses on somatic embryogenesis (SE), a complex process of clonal propagation by which plants can form embryos without meiosis and fertilization. This process involves the totipotency of plant cells, i.e., their ability for dedifferentiation and differentiation in new cellular types. Understanding the mechanisms controlling somatic embryogenesis and its regulation is a key issue in plant biology, since clonal propagation through SE is widely used for various plants of agronomic interest, such as Coffea spp. The known regulatory mechanisms involved in SE and ZE are compared with a specific focus on the LAFL (LEC1, ABI3, FUS3 and LEC2) gene regulatory network

Onset of Somatic Embryogenesis
Hormonal Control of Somatic Embryogenesis
Transcriptional Control of Somatic Embryogenesis
Epigenetic Regulation of Somatic Embryogenesis
Further Prospects
General of genesininvolved in somatic embryogenesis or zygoticinembryogenesis

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