PROMoters of In vitro Somatic Embryogenesis (PROMISE)

Coordination: Pierre Hilson

Industrial partner: Biogemma

Transformation and gene editing remains important bottlenecks for research and trait improvement in bread wheat. In that framework, most laboratories have now opted for Agrobacterium co-cultivation with tissues derived from immature embryos, followed by selection of transformed calli undergoing somatic embryogenesis. The most limiting step in such protocols is the production of large amount of immature embryos, requiring cumbersome manipulations and expensive greenhouse facilities. With the aim to explore alternative approaches, the objective of PROMISE was to identify novel molecules that promote in vitro somatic embryogenesis starting with wheat mature embryos. While the screening of a large compound library did not lead to the discovery of robust leads, the optimization of phytohormone balances led to the development and validation of regeneration protocols that yield up to 25% embryogenic calli starting from mature wheat embryos, an efficiency compatible with downstream genetic transformation.