Formation of embryogenic cell clumps from carrot epidermal cells is suppressed by 5-azacytidine, a DNA methylation inhibitor.

Nozomi Yamamoto, Hatsumi Kobayashi, Takashi Togashi, Yukiko Mori, Koji Kikuchi, Kyoko Kuriyama, Yoshihiko Tokuji

Index: J. Plant Physiol. 162(1) , 47-54, (2005)

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Abstract

Using a direct somatic embryogenesis system in carrot, we examined the role of DNA methylation in the change of cellular differentiation state, from somatic to embryogenic. 5-Azacytidine (aza-C), an inhibitor of DNA methylation suppressed the formation of embryogenic cell clumps from epidermal carrot cells. Aza-C also downregulated the expression of DcLEC1c, a LEC1-like embryonic gene in carrot, during morphogenesis of embryos. A carrot DNA methyltransferase gene, Met1-5 was expressed transiently after the induction of somatic embryogenesis by 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), before the formation of embryogenic cell clumps. These findings suggested the significance of DNA methylation in acquiring the embryogenic competence in somatic cells in carrot.