Q.Differentiate Embryoids and Artificial Seeds.

Embryoids are somatic-cell-derived embryo-like structures; artificial seeds are embryoids encapsulated for practical handling like true seeds.

Embryoids are structures that closely resemble a normal zygotic embryo in that they are bipolar (having both a shoot pole and a root pole) and capable of developing into a whole plant, but they arise not from the fusion of gametes, rather from a somatic (vegetative, non-reproductive) cell through a process called somatic embryogenesis, carried out in vitro under tissue culture conditions using suitable growth regulators. An embryoid, as it is produced, is a naked biological structure -- it has no protective seed coat or endosperm of its own.

Artificial seeds (synthetic seeds) are produced by taking such an embryoid (or, alternatively, another suitable propagule such as an axillary/shoot bud or somatic embryo) and encapsulating it within an artificial protective coating, most commonly a gel of sodium alginate, which is hardened by exposure to a calcium chloride solution to form a firm capsule. The encapsulating gel may also be supplemented with nutrients, growth hormones, and sometimes fungicides, to support the embryoid until it germinates.

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