The spermidine promotes maturation and tissue diferentiation of somatic embryos of Euterpe edulis Martius, an endangered Atlantic Forest species

Artículo

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, ofering 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 diferentiation of embryonic tissues and the maturation of somatic embryos in Euterpe edulis. The embryogenic callus were treated with diferent 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 percent of the embryos formed being converted to the fnal stage and 100 percent 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.