The carrot is considered a model system in plant cell culture. Spray drying represents a widely used technology to preserve microorganisms, such as bacteria and yeasts. In germplasm conservation, the most used methods are freeze drying and cryopreservation. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of spray drying on the viability and totipotency of somatic carrot cells. Leaf, root and stem explants were evaluated to induce callus with 2 mg/L of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Calli obtained from the stem were cultivated in a liquid medium with 1 mg/L of 2,4-D. Cell suspensions were spray dried with maltodextrin-gum Arabic and maltodextrin-xanthan gum mixtures, two outlet air temperatures (50 and 60 °C) and 120 °C inlet air temperature. Results showed that carrot cells were viable after spray drying, and this viability remained for six months at 8 °C. The totipotency of the microencapsulated cells was proven. Cells that were not spray dried regenerated 24.6 plantlets, while the spray dried cells regenerated 19 plantlets for each gram of rehydrated powder. Thus, spray drying allowed researchers to obtain viable and totipotent cells. This work is the first manuscript that reported the spray drying of plant somatic cells.
Keywords: carrot; encapsulation; somatic cells; spray drying.