Plant Regeneration and In Vitro Growth Performance of Male-Sterile Somatic Plantlets of Sugi (Japanese Cedar, Cryptomeria japonica) Derived from Different Embryogenic Cell Lines

Momi Tsuruta,Yoshinari Moriguchi,Tsuyoshi E Maruyama,Takumi Kaneeda,Saneyoshi Ueno

doi:10.3390/f12111592

Momi Tsuruta, Yoshinari Moriguchi + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/f12111592

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Abstract

With the spread of pollinosis caused by sugi (Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica) pollen, the use of pollen-free somatic seedlings of sugi is expected in Japan. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the relationship between the abilities during somatic embryogenesis, initial in vitro growth traits, and subsequent growth of somatic seedlings. In the present study, we provide the first basic information on somatic embryo maturation efficiency, somatic embryo germination, and plantlet conversion frequencies, as well as on in vitro growth performance of pollen-free somatic plantlets derived from different embryogenic cell lines (ECLs). Somatic embryo maturation efficiency varied from 34 to 514 cotyledonary embryos per plate and the average for the 19 ECLs tested was 244 embryos per plate. Subsequently, the overall average rates of somatic embryo germination and conversion among ECLs were 87.8% and 85.3%, respectively. The results of in vitro growth performance of pollen-free somatic plantlets showed significant differences in growth rate among ECLs.

Highlights

To further improve plant regeneration protocols, in the present study, we aimed to obtain basic information on somatic embryo maturation efficiency, somatic embryo germination, and plantlet conversion frequencies, as well as on in vitro growth performance of pollen-free somatic plantlets derived from different embryogenic cell lines (ECLs)
In the present study, we provide the first basic information on the in vitro growth performance of pollenfree somatic Japanese cedar plantlets, which may serve as scientific evidence to support the application of efficient propagation protocols for practical uses
An efficient and stable method for propagating pollen-free somatic plantlets through somatic embryogenesis (SE) after early discrimination of ECLs with marker-assisted selection (MAS) was demonstrated in Japanese cedar, sugi

Summary

Introduction

In Japanese artificial forests, the planted area of sugi Cupressaceae) covers approximately 4.5 million ha, representing 44% of the total reforested area [2]. Since large amounts of pollen are released from sugi forests each spring, allergic reactions caused by exposure to pollen are a serious social and public health problem in Japan. It is estimated that almost 40% of people living in Japan suffer from allergic rhinitis caused by sugi pollen [3]. The use of male-sterile plants (MSPs; pollen-free plants) for reforestation has been proposed. Against this background, the application of biotechnology to produce superior male-sterile trees in a short period of time represents a powerful tool to speed up the process

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