Enhanced somatic embryogenesis in Theobroma cacao using the homologous BABY BOOM transcription factor

BMC Plant Biology

Research Article

Sergio L Florez¹  Rachel L Erwin¹  Wayne R Curtis¹  Siela N Maximova²  Mark J Guiltinan² 

[1] Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 16802, University Park, PA, USA;Department of Plant Science and Huck Institute of Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 16802, University Park, PA, USA;

关键词: BABY BOOM;    Somatic embryogenesis;    Theobroma cacao;    Cell reprogramming;    Plant propagation;    Transient gene expression;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12870-015-0479-4

 received in 2014-10-10, accepted in 2015-03-23,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTheobroma cacao, the chocolate tree, is an important economic crop in East Africa, South East Asia, and South and Central America. Propagation of elite varieties has been achieved through somatic embryogenesis (SE) but low efficiencies and genotype dependence still presents a significant limitation for its propagation at commercial scales. Manipulation of transcription factors has been used to enhance the formation of SEs in several other plant species. This work describes the use of the transcription factor Baby Boom (BBM) to promote the transition of somatic cacao cells from the vegetative to embryonic state.ResultsAn ortholog of the Arabidopsis thaliana BBM gene (AtBBM) was characterized in T. cacao (TcBBM). TcBBM expression was observed throughout embryo development and was expressed at higher levels during SE as compared to zygotic embryogenesis (ZE). TcBBM overexpression in A. thaliana and T. cacao led to phenotypes associated with SE that did not require exogenous hormones. While transient ectopic expression of TcBBM provided only moderate enhancements in embryogenic potential, constitutive overexpression dramatically increased SE proliferation but also appeared to inhibit subsequent development.ConclusionOur work provides validation that TcBBM is an ortholog to AtBBM and has a specific role in both somatic and zygotic embryogenesis. Furthermore, our studies revealed that TcBBM transcript levels could serve as a biomarker for embryogenesis in cacao tissue. Results from transient expression of TcBBM provide confirmation that transcription factors can be used to enhance SE without compromising plant development and avoiding GMO plant production. This strategy could compliment a hormone-based method of reprogramming somatic cells and lead to more precise manipulation of SE at the regulatory level of transcription factors. The technology would benefit the propagation of elite varieties with low regeneration potential as well as the production of transgenic plants, which similarly requires somatic cell reprogramming.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Florez et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.