Identification and expression analysis of genes involved in somatic embryogenesis of banana

Abstract

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is a process in which somatic cells go through morphological and biochemical changes to form somatic embryos. These embryos are capable of regenerating into new plants. The present study aims to understand the molecular basis of these changes during the different stages of SE in banana cv. Grand Naine. 16 SE related genes belonging to 8 gene families i.e. PINHEADED (PIN), YUCCA (YUC), PICKLE (PKL), TOPOISOMERASE (TOP), HISTINE KINASES (CRE), SOMATIC CELL RECEPTOR KINASE (SERK), GLOBULIN (GLB), and KNOTTED (KNAT) were identified from the banana genome database. In-silico analysis of all 16 genes was performed to find out their structural features, phylogenetic relationship, subcellular, and chromosomal localization. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes with their homologs in other plant species (gymnosperm, monocot, and dicot) confirmed their close evolutionary association with monocot. We studied the differential expression pattern of all 16 genes for the exposure of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) in callus, embryogenic cell suspension (ECS), and non-embryogenic cell suspension (NECS) cultures of cv. Grand Naine. The higher expression of MaPIN1 in embryogenic callus and ECS suggests its possible role in SE of banana. The prominent expression of MaCRE2 and MaCRE3 found in NECS revealed that these genes might be involved in other cell functions except embryogenesis. The present study reported that MaPIN1 could be a potential marker for the embryogenicity in banana.