The effects of abscisic acid on the maturation ofBrassica napus somatic embryos

A comparison of embryos, cultured for increasing periods of time with and without abscisic acid (ABA), was undertaken to investigate, at the ultrastructural level, the influence of this growth regulator on the maturation of rapeseed (Brassica napus) somatic embryos. In the absence of ABA, the embryos germinated precociously while lipid bodies (LB), which were not numerous, soon degraded, as revealed by a depletion process associated with the appearance of morphologically mature glyoxysomes and an increase in the number of mitochondria. Moreover, a lack of protein bodies indicated that storage protein accumulation was not initiated under these conditions. On the contrary, the addition of ABA (10 μM) induced marked modification of embryo metabolism. Indeed, ABA completely prevented precocious embryo germination and inhibited lipid reserve catabolism. Moreover, the formation of small vacuoles and proliferation of rough endoplasmic reticulum in their vicinity suggested the onset of storage protein accumulation. After 15 days in the presence of ABA, the embryos contained abundant lipid and protein bodies. Nevertheless, these somatic embryos were not exactly the same as their mature zygotic counterparts since differences were found in chloroplasts, amyloplasts, and nuclear structures. These observations suggest that additional factors might be required to obtain fully mature somatic embryos.