In previous study we reported that pretreatment with plasmolysis enhanced somatic embryo formation in hypocotyls of Eleutherococcus senticosus.In the present study,the expression level of callose synthase gene in embryos of E.senticosus in response to 2,4-D,sucrose and mannitol treatments was analyzed by RT-PCR.The results show that plasmolysis pretreatment using sucrose and mannitol significantly promoted the expression of callose synthase gene.Also,the thicker cell walls of explant plasmolyzed compared with controls were observed during the somatic embryogenesis.We suggest that the callose may make the cells in epidermis separate from neighboring cells and then develop into embryogenic potential cells.
