Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 31(1): 1-12, 2021 (June)

Short Communications

Studies on the Effect of Starvation on Prolonged Callus Cultures and Alterations in SERK Gene Expression during Somatic Embryogenesis in Momordica charantia Linn.

Subhasree Das, Shonima Talapatra and Sarmistha Sen Raychaudhuri

Department of Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Calcutta, 92, A.P.C. Road Kolkata-700009, India

Key words: Momordica charantia, Somatic embryogenesis, Histochemistry, SERK expression

Abastract

Momordica charantia Linn. commonly known as bitter gourd is an annual climbing herb of Cucurbitaceae family. It is widely cultivated in Asia and South East Asia throughout India, Bangladesh and Thailand (Behera et al. 2011). It has been studied extensively for its medicinal properties in treating a number of diseases and traditionally used as antidiabetic and blood purifying agent (Joseph and Jini 2013). In somatic embryogenesis, embryo-like structures are derived from somatic cells other than gametes by evading the normal fertilization process, hence the offspring produced are genetically identical to their parent tissue (Feher et al. 2003). The switching of a somatic cell to an embryogenic state involves few changes in the composition of the cell wall. Periodic renewal of the culture medium is required, for maintaining the nutritional balance in the embryogenic cells (Raemakers et al. 1996). In somatic embryogenesis regulation, there is involvement of various genes and proteins at the molecular level and acquisition of embryogenic competence in somatic cells. Amongst all the genes, a novel gene named Somatic Embryogenesis Receptor Kinase (SERK) was first isolated by Schmidt et al. (1997) from carrot embryogenic cells, known as DcSERK. SERK gene acts as a molecular marker for somatic embryogenesis and its involvement in signal transduction and response against biotic and abiotic stress (Santos and Arag

Download Full Article