Small RNAs and Karma methylation in Elaeis guineensis mother palms are linked to high clonal mantling.

The mantled phenotype is an abnormal somaclonal variant arising from the oil palm cloning process and severe phenotypes lead to oil yield losses. Hypomethylation of the Karma retrotransposon within the B-type MADS-box EgDEF1 gene has been associated with this phenotype. While abnormal Karma-EgDEF1 hypomethylation was detected in mantled clones, we examined the methylation state of Karma in ortets that gave rise to high mantling rates in their clones.

Isolation and characterization of differentially expressed transcripts from the suspension cells of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) in response to different concentration of auxins.

Oil palm suspension cultures were initiated by transferring the gel-like friable embryogenic tissue onto liquid medium supplemented with auxins. In this study, transcripts that were differentially expressed in oil palm suspension cells cultured at different auxin concentrations were examined using suppression subtractive hybridization. Total RNA was first isolated from oil palm suspension cells proliferated in liquid medium with different hormone concentrations for 6 months.