Priver NamanyaG. MutumbaS. M. MagamboW. Tushemereirwe2025-03-122025-03-122014-04-261054-547610.1007/s11627-014-9598-0http://104.225.218.216/handle/123456789/213Embryogenic cell suspensions of triploid East African Highland bananas (Musa AAA-EA) were initiated and generated using cooking cultivar ‘Nakyetengu’ belonging to the Nakabululu clone set. Immature male flowers produced embryogenic calli consisting of embryos and friable tissue after 4 mo culture on a modified MA1 callus induction medium. Friable calli were initiated and maintained in liquid MA2 medium. A cell growth rate of 1.5–2.0 sedimented cell volume (SCV) per month was observed. Embryo development was observed at 2.18 × 103 embryos per mL SCV. Germination of these embryos was observed at 2.8% and 6.2% for two cell suspension lines. Plant regeneration efficiency was 60–100%, all producing normal plants with a shoot and roots at weaning. In the field, somatic cell-derived plants were all normal morphology and comparable to control plants during vegetative and reproductive stages. This study is a breakthrough for recalcitrant East African Highland banana and offers a system that can provide essential raw materials for associated germ- plasm improvement through genetic engineering approaches.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United Stateshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Embryogenic cell suspensionsEast African Highland bananasSomatic embryogenesisArticle