Evolution of Culture Vessel for Micropropagation: From Test Tube To Culture Room

Abstract

To improve the culture conditions for micropropagation, different types of culture vessels and capping systems have been designed. Some of these designs improve the aerial composition in the culture vessel and some for recycling the nutrient medium. This article describes the evolution of different culture vessel and culture systems, with special emphasis on forced ventilation to improve the culture atmosphere and thus to improve the growth and multiplication and also the quality of propagules. By altering the aerial environment of the culture vessel, plantlets can be grown photoautotrophically (sugar free medium) which has many advantages over the photomixotrophic or heterotrophic system. By using forced ventilation and a photoautotrophic culture system, the scaling-up of the culture vessel is possible with high growth rate and survival percentage and with minimum time and space. More recently, this scale-up system has been further extended making the aseptic culture room itself a large culture vessel containing many small sterile trays with plants on the culture shelves and with a common headspace. By using this enlarged system, the production of even more quality transplants was achieved relatively easily.