DIFFERENTIATION SPECIFIC GENE EXPRESSION IN REGAL (LILIUM REGALE) CALLUS

Specific gene expression during differentiation has been reported with a variety of plant species.
Differential expression of various gene families has been demonstrated.
Their role in differentiation processes still remains largely unclear.
Somatic embryos are ideal tool in investigating the control and physiology of differentiation.
Besides, understanding the processes behind the regeneration facilitates also the development of more efficient mass propagation of lilies.
The aim of this work is to study differentiation of regal lily (Lilium regale Wil.) at the anatomical, physiological and molecular level.
In this experiment, general expression was followed during a three-week period at the induction phase of embryonic cultures.
Friable callus derived from young seedlings was selected for further culture and differentiation studies.
Tissue samples were collected at several stages, and the expression of four embryogenesis related genes was followed during the experimental period.
In addition, RAPD analysis was performed to assess the quality of the cDNA, and to identify possible changes due to plant hormones used in the induction medium.