Embriogénesis somática en el cultivar FHIA-25 (Musa spp., Grupo AAB) a partir de ápices meristemáticos

Abstract

Somatic embryogenesis is a useful system for genetic improvement and an alternative for in vitro plant propagation. This work was performed with the aim of establishing a plant regeneration method via somatic embryogenesis using initial explants of shoot apices from axillary buds in liquid culture medium. The high yielding banana cultivar 'FHIA – 25' (AAB) which has a high resistance to "Black Sigatoka", but low sugar content in the fruit was used. So, there is a need to have a plant regeneration method at cellular level such as, somatic embryogenesis that may help improve the fruit quality by genetic transformation. It proved to be possible to obtain homogeneous embryogenic cell suspensions from explants mentioned above directly in the liquid culture medium without going through a callus phase where the highest cellular multiplication volumes were achieved at 3,0% density of the sedimented cell volume. The incubation of somatic embryos produced during 30 days in the maturation culture medium permitted a germination increment. Plants from somatic embryos compared to plants regenerated by organogenesis, showed in both cases a high survival percentage in the acclimatization phase, without the presence of phenotypic changes.