SEROLOGICAL STUDY ON NONEMBRYOGENIC AND EMBRYOGENIC CALLI OF THE EUROPEAN BLACK PINE (PINUS-NIGRA ARN) AND SILVER FIR (ABIES-ALBA MILL)

Profound antigenic differentiation has been revealed between nonembryo genic and embryogenic callus lines of hath Pinus nigra and Abies alba. The enriched spectrum of serologically active fractions has, as a rul e, been characteristic for the non-embryogenic callus lines of both th e abo ve species. A small variation in the number of precipitin lines has also been observed between individual embryogenic callus lines of the species investigated. The early stages of somatic embryogenesis in Abies alba were shown to be antigenically differentiated as well. Bot h the embryogenic callus and embryogenic suspensor mass had shared the proteins, which exhibited serological activity towards the antibodies prepared against the callus antigens, bur differed profoundly with re spect to the presence of the antigens from mature zygotic embryos of t he species.