Somatic Embryogenesis in <i>Centaurium erythraea</i> Rafn—Current Status and Perspectives: A Review
Ana D. Simonović,
Milana M. Trifunović-Momčilov,
Biljana K. Filipović,
Marija P. Marković,
Milica D. Bogdanović,
Angelina R. Subotić
Affiliations
Ana D. Simonović
Department for Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Milana M. Trifunović-Momčilov
Department for Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Biljana K. Filipović
Department for Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Marija P. Marković
Department for Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Milica D. Bogdanović
Department for Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Angelina R. Subotić
Department for Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Centaurium erythraea (centaury) is a traditionally used medicinal plant, with a spectrum of secondary metabolites with confirmed healing properties. Centaury is an emerging model in plant developmental biology due to its vigorous regenerative potential and great developmental plasticity when cultured in vitro. Hereby, we review nearly two decades of research on somatic embryogenesis (SE) in centaury. During SE, somatic cells are induced by suitable culture conditions to express their totipotency, acquire embryogenic characteristics, and eventually give rise to somatic embryos. When SE is initiated from centaury root explants, the process occurs spontaneously (on hormone-free medium), directly (without the callusing phase), and the somatic embryos are of unicellular origin. SE from leaf explants has to be induced by plant growth regulators and is indirect (preceded by callusing). Histological observations and culture conditions are compared in these two systems. The changes in antioxidative enzymes were followed during SE from the leaf explants. Special focus is given to the role of arabinogalactan proteins during SE, which were analyzed using a variety of approaches. The newest and preliminary results, including centaury transcriptome, novel potential SE markers, and novel types of arabinogalactan proteins, are discussed as perspectives of centaury research.
