In Cichorium '474', the embryo globular stage was characterised by a fibrillar network linking peripheral neighbouring cells. To test a putative connection between this fibrillar network and the cytoskeleton (CTK), we have used CTK disrupting agents (cold; colchicine; cytochalasine B) on Cichorium somatic embryos. Scanning electron microscopy observations showed that these three treatments induced the disappearance of the fibrillar network and suggested that this network could take part of the CTK-plasma membrane (PM)-extracellular matrix (ECM) continuum. The treatment media containing the removal fibrillar network were used to analyse its proteic component by 2D-PAGE. Using a Sun SPARCstation computer, the comparison of the gels corresponding to the different treatments allowed us to detect a group of 25 common proteins recovered in the medium after each treatment and in somatic embryogenesis conditioned medium. During the short treatments applied on somatic embryos, a large amount of high molecular weight glycoproteins corresponding to arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) have been quantified with β-d-glucosyl Yariv reagent and identified with monoclonal antibodies raised against AGP epitopes (JIM13, JIM16, LM2). The implication of the fibrillar network and AGPs in the continuum CTK-PM-ECM are discussed in attempt to elucidate their possible function during Cichorium somatic embryogenesis.