Physiological and biochemical features of embryogenic and non-embryogenic peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) cultures

Both embryogenic and non-embryogenic peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) cultures arise during somatic embryogenesis induction, and both tissue types are often observed growing side-by-side from the same explant. To better understand why this occurs, samples from each tissue type were analyzed for their endogenous concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), polyamines, and amino acids with high-performance liquid chromatography and for total phenolics with spectrophotometry. Embryogenic cultures contained significantly higher concentrations of IAA, ABA, and total amino acids, whereas non-embryogenic tissue contained more total polyamines and phenolics. The greater IAA concentrations in embryogenic cultures supported the role of that hormone as a marker of embryogenic potential. Putrescine was especially prevalent in non-embryogenic cultures; however, the decreased putrescine/spermine + spermidine ratio in embryogenic cultures added support to the conclusions of previous studies in other species that this can serve as a marker of embryogenic competence. Though embryogenic cultures contained higher total amino acids, each culture type had different concentrations of specific amino acids.