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Abscisic acid is required for somatic embryo initiation through mediating spatial auxin response in Arabidopsis

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Abstract

Abscisic acid (ABA) regulates many aspects of plant development, including somatic embryo (SE) initiation. However, mechanisms of ABA functions on SE initiation have remained to be investigated. In this study, we examined the endogenous ABA contents of calli in Arabidopsis during the SE inductive process. We further found that the capacity for SE initiation was strongly impaired by treatment of fluridone, a potent inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis, as well as by mutation of ABA biosynthetic gene ABA2, suggesting that ABA is required for SE initiation. Furthermore, treatment of fluridone inhibited local auxin biosynthesis and auxin polar transport in the embryonic calli, resulting in the disturbance of auxin response pattern and the decreased regeneration frequency of SEs. However, application of exogenous ABA in the medium almost recovered patterns of auxin response and SE initiation. Thus, the results suggest that ABA functions on SE initiation through mediating both auxin biosynthesis and polar transport for establishment of auxin response pattern in callus. Our study provides new information for understanding mechanisms of SE initiation.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF) of China (90917015, 31000652, and 31170272). No conflict of interest declared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, Shandong, China

    Ying Hua Su, Yu Xiao Su, Ying Gao Liu & Xian Sheng Zhang

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  1. Ying Hua Su
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  2. Yu Xiao Su
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  3. Ying Gao Liu
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Correspondence to Xian Sheng Zhang.

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Ying Hua Su and Yu Xiao Su contributed equally to this work.

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Su, Y.H., Su, Y.X., Liu, Y.G. et al. Abscisic acid is required for somatic embryo initiation through mediating spatial auxin response in Arabidopsis . Plant Growth Regul 69, 167–176 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-012-9759-2

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