SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS IN PLANTAIN BANANA

A cell suspension of French Sombre plantain banana (Musa spp. AAB geno me) was initiated from callus obtained from young male flowers. Histol ogical examination enabled us to describe and follow the evolution of the suspension consisting of: embryogenic aggregates, proembryos, nodu les, and isolated cells. It demonstrated the unicellular origin of som atic embryos, either during maintenance of the suspension or after pla ting on a semisolid medium. The cells from which the embryos originate d had no starch but only protein reserves. Plating 1 ml of packed cell s from the suspension led to the formation of 10(5) embryos of which 1 0 to 40% could be converted into plantlets.