Evidence of WUSCHEL (WOX2) gene expression during induction of somatic embryogenesis from apical shoot buds of mature trees of Pinus roxburghii

This study highlights for the first time the expression of transcription factor, WOX2(WUSCHEL homeobox 2) in the embryogenic tissue derived from the apical shoot buds of mature trees of 3 genotypes of P. roxburghii. Therefore, PrWOX2 could be used as a potential molecular signature for the identification of embryogenic cultures during the early development of somatic embryos in conifers. On the other hand, the non-embryogenic tissue of shoot bud cultures which were initiated without cold treatment (control) failed to showthe expression of WOX2. This clearly demonstrates the role of WOX2 in the somatic embryogenesis pathway and might be directly related to the stress conditions.