AUTHOR=Maruyama Tsuyoshi E. , Hosoi Yoshihisa 

TITLE=Progress in Somatic Embryogenesis of Japanese Pines

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.00031

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2019.00031

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Somatic embryogenesis (SE) in not only one of the most promising techniques for mass propagation of selected trees, but also is a valuable tool for basic research studies in cell biology and genetic engineering, and it allows the long-term <italic>ex situ</italic> conservation of genetic resources by cryopreservation techniques. This review reports the most recent progress in SE, protoplast culture, and cryopreservation of four important Japanese pines (<italic>Pinus thunbergii, Pinus densiflora, Pinus armandii</italic> var. <italic>amamiana</italic>, and <italic>Pinus luchuensis</italic>). Induction of embryogenic tissues (ET), embryogenic culture maintenance/proliferation, production of somatic embryos, germination, and conversion to plants are described focusing on the protocols most commonly reported for plant production in <italic>Pinus</italic> species through to SE.</p>