Synthetic seed production from encapsulated somatic embryos of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) and automated growth monitoring
2008
Pintos, B. | Bueno, M. A. | Cuenca, B. | Manzanera, J. A.
Cork oak (Quercus suber) somatic embryos were coated with alginate for the production of synthetic seeds and their storability for commercialization was investigated. Also, the automatic monitoring of somatic embryo growth with a digital system of image capture was tested. A power regression model was fitted between size and fresh weight (Adjusted R-squared = 0.96). This method permitted growth assessment without contamination risk and opens the possibility of an automated control of culture growth for the future up scaling of plant production. Conversion rate of synthetic seeds was higher on medium supplemented with mineral nutrients than on medium without nutrients. Also, when the somatic embryos were coated without mineral nutrients added to the capsule, conversion rate was significantly lower. The addition of sucrose to the capsule had no significant effect on the conversion rate. No differences were recorded between 50 and 100 mM CaCl₂ for capsule complexation. Synthetic seeds were cold stored at 4°C for two months without significant loss of conversion capacity. The present study reports the first attempts to determine optimal storage time and conditions for conversion of encapsulated somatic embryos of cork oak.
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