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The BABY BOOM (BBM) AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE (AIL) AP2/ERF domain transcription factor is a major regulator of plant cell totipotency, as it induces asexual embryo formation when ectopically expressed. Surprisingly, only limited information is available on the role of BBM during zygotic embryogenesis. Here we reexamined BBM expression and function in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) using reporter analysis and newly developed CRISPR mutants. BBM was expressed in the embryo from the zygote stage and also in the maternal (nucellus) and filial (endosperm) seed tissues. Analysis of CRISPR mutant alleles for BBM (bbm-cr) and the redundantly acting AIL gene PLETHORA2 (PLT2) (plt2-cr) uncovered individual roles for these genes in the timing of embryo progression. We also identified redundant roles for BBM and PLT2 in endosperm proliferation and cellularization and the maintenance of zygotic embryo development. Finally, we show that ectopic BBM expression in the egg cell of Arabidopsis and the dicot crops Brassica napus and Solanum lycopersicon is sufficient to bypass the fertilization requirement for embryo development. Together these results highlight roles for BBM and PLT2 in seed development and demonstrate the utility of BBM genes for engineering asexual embryo development in dicot species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: In vitro embryo development is highly plastic; embryo cell fate can be re-established in tissue culture through different pathways. In most angiosperms, embryo development from the single-celled zygote follows a defined pattern of cell divisions in which apical (embryo proper) and basal (root and suspensor) cell fates are established within the first cell divisions. By contrast, embryos that are induced in vitro in the absence of fertilization show a less regular initial cell division pattern yet develop into histodifferentiated embryos that can be converted into seedlings. We used the Brassica napus microspore embryogenesis system, in which the male gametophyte is reprogrammed in vitro to form haploid embryos, to identify the developmental fates of the different types of embryogenic structures found in culture. Using time-lapse imaging of LEAFY COTYLEDON1-expressing cells, we show that embryogenic cell clusters with very different morphologies are able to form haploid embryos. The timing of surrounding pollen wall (exine) rupture is a major determinant of cell fate in these clusters, with early exine rupture leading to the formation of suspensor-bearing embryos and late rupture to suspensorless embryos. In addition, we show that embryogenic callus, which develops into suspensor-bearing embryos, initially expresses transcripts associated with both basal- and apical-embryo cell fates, suggesting that these two cell fates are fixed later in development. This study reveals the inherent plasticity of in vitro embryo development and identifies new pathways by which embryo cell fate can be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]