NO, ROS, and cell death associated with caspase-like activity increase in stress-induced microspore embryogenesis of barley

Under specific stress treatments (cold, starvation), in vitro microspores can be induced to deviate from their gametophytic development and switch to embryogenesis, forming haploid embryos and homozygous breeding lines in a short period of time. The inductive stress produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO), signalling molecules mediating cellular responses, and cell death, modifying the embryogenic microspore response and therefore, the efficiency of the process. This work analysed cell death, caspase 3-like activity, and ROS and NO production (using fluorescence probes and confocal analysis) after inductive stress in barley microspore cultures and embryogenic suspension cultures, as an in vitro system which permitted easy handling for comparison. There was an increase in caspase 3-like activity and cell death after stress treatment in microspore and suspension cultures, while ROS increased in non-induced microspores and suspension cultures. Treatments of the cultures with a caspase 3 inhibitor, DEVD-CHO, significantly reduced the cell death percentages. Stress-treated embryogenic suspension cultures exhibited high NO signals and cell death, while treatment with S-nitrosoglutathione (NO donor) in control suspension cultures resulted in even higher cell death. In contrast, in microspore cultures, NO production was detected after stress, and, in the case of 4-day microspore cultures, in embryogenic microspores accompanying the initiation of cell divisions. Subsequent treatments of stress-treated microspore cultures with ROS and NO scavengers resulted in a decreasing cell death during the early stages, but later they produced a delay in embryo development as well as a decrease in the percentage of embryogenesis in microspores. Results showed that the ROS increase was involved in the stress-induced programmed cell death occurring at early stages in both non-induced microspores and embryogenic suspension cultures; whereas NO played a dual role after stress in the two in vitro systems, one involved in programmed cell death in embryogenic suspension cultures and the other in the initiation of cell division leading to embryogenesis in reprogrammed microspores

Inhibition of ethylene biosynthesis enhances embryogenesis of cultured microspores of Brassica napus

International audienceProcedures that induce microspore embryogenesis have been described for a range of Brassica species, but embryo yield remains low for a number of genotypes. We have carried out experiments with the microspores from a weakly responsive line of B. napus to determine the culture conditions that optimize their in vitro embryogenesis by treating them with effectors of ethylene synthesis and action. The results revealed that isolated microspores subjected to an initial heat stress in a medium supplemented with inhibitors of ethylene synthesis such as AVG and CoCl2 exhibited significantly increased embryo yields. This suggested that regulatory effects are exerted by the ethylene produced by the isolated microspores on the early processes of gametogenesis. As a consequence, treatment of microspores with SAM, an ethylene synthesis precursor, or with the ethylene-releasing agent ethephon, led to decreases in embryo yield. A special response to ethylene during the early stages of microspore development was finally shown to occur through experiments where isolated microspores were treated for increasing periods of time with CoCl2. Collectively, our data demonstrated that the induction of embryogenesis induced by heat stress can be enhanced by inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis