Somatic embryogenesis is an effective tool for the production of forest tree seedlings with desirable characteristics; however, the low initiation frequency and productivity of high-quality mature somatic embryos are still limiting factors for Larix kaempferi (Japanese larch). Here, we analyzed the expression pattern of L. kaempferi cyclin-dependent kinase B 1;2 (LaCDKB1;2) during somatic embryogenesis in L. kaempferi and its relationship with the cell proliferation rate. We also analyzed the effect of LaCDKB1;2 over-expression on somatic embryo quality. The results revealed a positive correlation between LaCDKB1;2 expression and the cell proliferation rate during the proliferation stage. After LaCDKB1;2 over-expression, the proliferation rate of cultures increased, and the number of somatic embryos in transgenic cultures was 2.69 times that in non-transformed cultures. Notably, the number of normal cotyledonary embryos in transgenic cultures was 3 times that in non-transformed cultures, indicating that LaCDKB1;2 not only increases the proliferation of cultures and the number of somatic embryos but also improves the quality of somatic embryos. These results provide insight into the regulatory mechanisms of somatic embryogenesis as well as new Larix breeding material.

Somatic embryogenesis is an ideal model process for studying early plant development. Embryonic cell lines of Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr overexpressing LaMIR166a were obtained in our previous study. Here, a combination of de novo transcriptomics and extensively targeted metabolomics was used to study the transcriptional profiles and metabolic changes in wild-type and LaMIR166a-overexpressed embryonic cell lines. A total of 459 metabolites were found in the wild-type and transgenic cell lines. Compared to those in the wild-type cell lines, transcripts and metabolites were significantly altered in the LaMIR166a-overexpressed cell lines. Among differentially expressed genes (DEGs), phenylalanine and flavonoid synthesis genes were significantly enriched, and among differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs), phenolic acids and flavonoids accumulated in particularly high amounts. Thus, the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway seems to be the most abundant pathway in response to LaMIR166a overexpression. Based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database, the association analysis of metabolome and transcriptome data showed that flavonoid biosynthesis and plant hormone signal transduction processes were significantly changed in miR166a-overexpression lines, suggesting that miR166 might be involved in these processes. The present study identified a number of potential metabolites associated with LaMIR166a overexpression, providing a significant foundation for a better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying miR166.

The study of somatic embryogenesis can provide insight into early plant development. We previously obtained LaMIR166a-overexpressing embryonic cell lines of Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr. To further elucidate the molecular mechanisms associated with miR166 in this species, the transcriptional profiles of wild-type (WT) and three LaMIR166a-overexpressing transgenic cell lines were subjected to RNA sequencing using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 system. In total, 203,256 unigenes were generated using Trinity de novo assembly, and 2467 differentially expressed genes were obtained by comparing transgenic and WT lines. In addition, we analyzed the cleaved degree of LaMIR166a target genes LaHDZ31–34 in different transgenic cell lines by detecting the expression pattern of LaHdZ31–34, and their cleaved degree in transgenic cell lines was higher than that in WT. The downstream genes of LaHDZ31–34 were identified using Pearson correlation coefficients. Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase report assays revealed that the transcription factors LaHDZ31–34 could bind to the promoters of LaPAP, LaPP1, LaZFP5, and LaPHO1. This is the first report of gene expression changes caused by LaMIR166a overexpression in Japanese larch. These findings lay a foundation for future studies on the regulatory mechanism of miR166.

The deciduous conifer larch has been widely distributed around the world, which is a high-quality wood species and is also used to extract industrial raw materials and medicines. In this study, we developed an organogenesis protocol for Larix olgensis from both mature zygotic embryos and needles, and analyzed the content of taxifolin in different tissues. The highest callus induction (96.8%) from mature zygotic embryo was got in the Douglas-fir Cotyledon Revised (DCR) medium augmented with 2.0 mg/L 6-Benzylaminopurine (6-BA) and 0.2 mg/L α-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), while from needles the highest callus induction (92.03%) was got in the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium augmented with 3 mg/L 6-BA and 0.3 mg/L NAA. The best shoot regeneration capacity from zygotic embryo-derived calli (83.3%) was obtained in DCR medium augmented with 1.0 mg/L 6-BA and 0.01 mg/L NAA, and needle-derived calli were 77.3%. The shoots achieved the highest elongation (75.6%) in the DCR medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 6-BA, 0.05 mg/L NAA and 2g/L activated charcoal (AC). The rooting rate was 62.8% in DCR medium augmented with 3 mg/L Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 100 mg/L phloroglucinol (PG). The accumulation of the taxifolin in elongation shoots and lignified elongation shoots have greatly improved along with the development process, were 28.6 µg/g, and 53 µg/g respectively. The content of the taxifolin in callus was 1.99-5.26 µg/g, adventitious shoots were 4.8µg/g, and adventitious roots were 2.86 µg/g. To date, we reported an efficient organogenesis and taxifolin production protocol in larch for the first time.