title: Molecular evidence of true-to-type propagation of a 3-year-old Norway spruce through somatic embryogenesis.
abstract: Some progress has recently been made in establishing a system enabling somatic embryos to be initiated from old elite trees. We report here the first results demonstrating the molecular conformity of somatic embryos initiated from increasingly old Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), as indicated by an analysis of six nuclear microsatellites that showed an extremely high tendency to mutate during in vitro culture. No allelic difference was detected at these loci among plants regenerated from somatic embryos or between the former and mother plants. Moreover, phenotypical data acquired on the same 3- to 9-year-old plants growing in the field sampled for molecular analyses were totally in accord with the results on molecular conformity.
authors.affiliation: AFOCEL, Ressources du Futur, Domaine de l'Etançon, Nangis, France. harvengt@afocel.fr
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Harvengt
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Trontin
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Reymond
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Canlet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paques
mesh_terms: D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D046508:Culture Techniques; D010641:Phenotype; D028222:Picea / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D014197:Trees / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*