Caulogenic induction in cotyledons of stone pine (Pinus pinea): relationship between organogenic response and benzyladenine trends in selected families.

Adventitious bud formation in stone pine cotyledons cultured in the presence of benzyladenine (BA) has been proposed as a model for the study of in vitro shoot organogenesis in conifers. This is because of its advantageous characteristics including the requirement of only one plant growth regulator (BA), the synchronous fashion of its induction, and the homogeneity and low degree of differentiation of cotyledons. Although optimal culture conditions have been developed and are currently in use, we still lack data for BA dynamics in cotyledons cultured under these conditions, and the morphological description of the early induction stages has not, until now, been approached from a histological perspective. Consequently, this is the focus of the present report. Additionally, we examined uptake and metabolism of BA in cotyledons from two selected families, previously characterized by, and selected for, the difference in the magnitude of their organogenic response. Media transfer experiments established that cotyledons should be in contact with 44.4 microM BA for at least 6h to obtain any caulogenic response (minimum shoot-induction period). Histological observations, carried out here for the first time in this species, determined that meristemoid structures had already begun to appear in explants within 12 h of culture. Moreover, results from the BA uptake and metabolism experiments indicated that the point at which explants reached the maximum concentration of active forms of BA (276.60 microM at 6 h) and the onset of the determination phase of shoot organogenesis were directly related. A direct relationship was also observed between the intensity of the caulogenic response in cotyledons from families 36 and 61 and the endogenous concentration of BA and its riboside at the start of the induction phase. Hence, family 36, characterized by its higher bud production, reached concentrations of 251.56 microM, while family 61, selected for its low bud-producing trait, only attained 175.80 microM. Finally, a correlation was observed between 6-benzylamino-9-[O-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)ribofuranosyl]-purine values and the magnitude of the shoot organogenesis response.