Читать книгу Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding - George Acquaah - Страница 357

Somatic embryogenesis has potential commercial applications, one of which is in the synthetic seed technology (production of artificial seeds). A synthetic seed consists of somatic embryos enclosed in protective coating. There are two types currently being developed:

1 Hydrated synthetic seed – This kind of seed is encased in hydrated gel (e.g. calcium alginate).

2 Desiccated synthetic seed – This kind of seed is coated with water soluble resin (e.g. polyoxethylene).

To develop synthetic seed, it is critical to achieve a quiescent phase, which is typically lacking in somatic embryogenesis (i.e. without quiescence, there is continuous growth, germination, and eventually death, but no stationary stage as in embryos in mature seeds). The application will depend on the crop. Lucerne (Medicago sativa) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) are among the species that have received much attention in artificial seed development. Potential application of artificial seed is in species that are highly heterozygous and in which conventional breeding is time‐consuming. Trees can be cloned more readily by this method. In some tropical species that are seed propagated but in which seeds have short duration of viability, artificial seed production could be economical, because of the high economic value of these crops (e.g. cacao, coconut, oil palm, coffee). Also, hybrid synthetic seed could be produced in species in which commercial hybrid production is problematic (e.g. cotton, soybean).