Biotechnological Applications of Plant Tissue Cultures

Abstract

Progress in plant cell, tissue and organ culture has lead to two clearly discernable areas of biotechnological application of these systems. The first is concerned with the micropropagation of plants, the second with the production of speciality chemicals. The micropropagation of plants through tissue culture allows the production of large numbers of virus free plants in a standard format and with desired characteristics. Furthermore through techniques of selection, protoplast fusion and somatic cell hybridisation new characteristics may also be introduced into key species. Such characteristics may include salt tolerance, disease resistance, enhanced crop yield and natural product composition and yield. Tissue culture techniques have been applied commercially to horticultural species including orchids and gerbera, while in agriculture and speciality crops, major success has been achieved with oil palm, jojoba, and citrus. Key targets in agriculture include cereal crops such as maize and wheat. Parallel advances in cell culture have lead to the development of processes using large scale bioreactors (fermenters) for the production of speciality chemicals usually derived from whole plants. Two such processes for shikonin and berberine production are already operational in Japan and others are in an advanced state of development around the World.