Histological analysis of somatic embryogenesis from shoot explant of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

The goal of this research was to investigate the ontogenic path followed by the somatic embryo from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis jacq.) with in vitro culture and to characterize somatic embryo from shoot of explants. Explant were injected into a medium for the induction of calluses, histological analysis were perfomed on embryogenic callus and somatic embryo. Embryogenic callus with nodular structure and still proliferate because the cells are meristematic and very actively to dividing. The samples were dehydrated in an alcohol series, FAA-fixed and paraffin-infused for this. For staining the sample, it was done by inserting the sample in 1% safranin dye for 12 hours, then rinsed with distilled water until the color completely disappeared, then continued with dehydration in ethanol and added 2% fast green solution for 30 seconds. Oil palm somatic embryos consist of 3 phases, namely globular, skutelar and coleoptilar, where somatic embryos in the globular phase will be larger than nodular callus. globular embryo size > 200 μm with the characteristics of this phase, namely the formation of epidermal tissue, this tissue is the result of differentiation from the meristematic surface layer called protoderm. This layer is a periclinal cleavage at the transition from the proembryonic to globular phase. This method of multiplication allowed the original cell mass to proliferate, resulting in new calli lineages, particularly the embryogenic yellowish nodular lineage, which gave rise to somatic embryos.