| abstract |
The invention concerns measurement of sucrose series oligosaccharides, particularly sucrose, raffinose, and stachyose, and the dehydrin group proteins, in conifer somatic embryos as a measure of their biochemical maturity and readiness to germinate. The information gained is useful for evaluation of the effectiveness of the culture media, particularly that used for the development of the cotyledonary embryo stage. Somatic embryos having elevated levels of the oligosaccharides have been shown to have improved germination, especially those in the genus Pinus. The invention is also directed to conifer somatic embryos having elevated levels of sucrose series oligosaccharides and dehydrin group proteins. |