Summary
Embryoids which developed from callus obtained from leaves ofMedicago sativa L. (alfalfa) were studied with the light and scanning electron microscopes; embryoids are not common in leguminous plants. Sections showed that in organised callus embryoids apparently originated from groups of embryonic cells, whereas in friable callus, and in the epidermis of cotyledons, hypocotyls and roots of callus-derived plantlets, they often originated from single cells. Many early stages of embryogenesis (1, 2, 3- and 4-celled stages) were observed, particularly in epidermal sites. Stages in somatic embryogenesis, though variable, resembled those described for the normal zygotic embryos of alfalfa. A suspensor-like structure was sometimes present in the embryoids. Numbers of cotyledons, up to six, were observed. The SEM provided confirmation of the many stages of development and the very large number of embryoids present, as well as evidence of the range of form resulting from differential growth of regions of the embryos.
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On leave from Divisão de Botanica, CEPEC/CEPLAC, C.P. 7, 45600 Itabuna, BA, Brasil.
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Santos, A.V.P.d., Cutter, E.G. & Davey, M.R. Origin and development of somatic embryos inMedicago sativa L. (alfalfa). Protoplasma 117, 107–115 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01288349
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01288349