Vengadesan, G., Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620 024, Tamilnadu, India, Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, 715 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2061, United States
Selvaraj, N., Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620 024, Tamilnadu, India
Prem Anand, R., Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620 024, Tamilnadu, India
Gaba, V., Department of Virology, Institute for Plant Protection, Volcani Centre, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Ganapathi, A., Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620 024, Tamilnadu, India

Suspension culture of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) has been an inefficient method for production of somatic embryos owing to problems with embryo maturation and conversion. Embryogenic callus of cv. Green Long was induced on semi-solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 6.8 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2.2 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (BA). A large number of globular somatic embryos were obtained on transfer of the callus to MS liquid medium supplemented with 87.6 mM sucrose, 1.1 μM 2,4-D, and improved by the addition of 342.4 μM L-glutamine. MS medium supplemented with 87.6 mM sucrose was more effective in somatic embryo production than other sugars. Subsequent development led to the formation of heart- and torpedo-shaped embryos. Maturation of somatic embryos occurred on plant growth regulator-free MS semi-solid medium containing 175.2 mM sucrose and 0.5 g l-1 activated charcoal. Conversion of embryos into plants was achieved on half-strength MS semi-solid medium containing 87.6 mM sucrose and 1.4 μM gibberellic acid (GA3) in a 16 h photoperiod. Twenty-seven percent of embryos were converted into normal plants. © 2005 Society for In Vitro Biology.