Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration in Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.

Callus induction, somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration were obtained in two cultivars of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. Transverse thin cell layers from roots/epicotyls of 15-day-old seedlings or of regenerated plantlets were used. Callus response depended on the genotype, the size of transverse thin cell layers, the level at which transverse thin cell layers were excised on the epicotyl, the composition of growth substances and the number of in vitro regeneration cycles undergone by the donor plant. Somatic embryos were differentiated under a defined dark/light sequence, from epidermised compact calluses (i.e having already differentiated an epidermis), obtained directly with dicamba or from friable callus initiated with kinetin and 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. The importance of kinetin and dicamba on the induction of embryogenic potential is reported.