Morpho-Anatomical and Biochemical Characterization of Embryogenic and Degenerative Embryogenic Calli of <i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> L.
Amal F. M. Zein El Din,
Ola H. Abd Elbar,
Saleh M. Al Turki,
Khaled M. A. Ramadan,
Hossam S. El-Beltagi,
Hemmat A. Ibrahim,
Ezzeldin G. Gadalla,
Ibrahim M. Shams El-Din,
Ibrahim S. Ibrahim,
Reham Farag,
Mohamed F. M. Ibrahim,
Mona S. Abd El-Aal,
Ahmed Abou El-Yazied,
Mohamed M. El-Mogy,
Mina S. F. Samaan,
Yasmin M. R. Abdellatif
Affiliations
Amal F. M. Zein El Din
The Central Laboratory for Date Palm Researches and Development, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza 12619, Egypt
Ola H. Abd Elbar
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Saleh M. Al Turki
Arid Land Agriculture Department (Horticulture Program), College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Khaled M. A. Ramadan
Central Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Hossam S. El-Beltagi
Agricultural Biotechnology Department, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Hemmat A. Ibrahim
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Ezzeldin G. Gadalla
The Central Laboratory for Date Palm Researches and Development, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza 12619, Egypt
Ibrahim M. Shams El-Din
The Central Laboratory for Date Palm Researches and Development, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza 12619, Egypt
Ibrahim S. Ibrahim
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Reham Farag
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Mohamed F. M. Ibrahim
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Mona S. Abd El-Aal
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Ahmed Abou El-Yazied
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Mohamed M. El-Mogy
Vegetable Crops Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
Mina S. F. Samaan
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Yasmin M. R. Abdellatif
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
The study of morpho-anatomical aspects, metabolic changes of proteins, antioxidant substances, as well as phenolic compounds in embryogenic callus (EC) and degenerative embryogenic callus (DEC) was the aim of the present investigation. Ability to form somatic embryos (SEs) was associated with the softness of the EC, which exhibited a white or creamy color and was composed of isodiametric cells containing dense cytoplasm, conspicuous nuclei and minimal vacuoles with observed mitotic activity. Furthermore, protein, reduced glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (ASC) concentrations and the ratio between ASC and dehydroascorborbic acid (DHA) were increased significantly in the EC in comparison to the DEC. In addition, the phenolic extract of the EC was proved to have higher scavenging activity than the extract from the DEC. A loss of embryogenic competence in the DEC was correlated with the presence of more rigid clumps and such calli had a yellowish to brown color and no cell division could be observed in the cells of such aggregates as the cells had large vacuoles and they have very thick walls. Moreover, these morphological and anatomical observations of the DEC were accompanied by accumulations of the oxidized form of ascorbic acid (DHA), H2O2, total soluble phenolic compounds and overaccumulation of naringenin. Alternations in cellular metabolism can affect and regulate the morphogenesis of somatic embryos.
