Pros and Cons of Microorganisms in Plant Tissue Culture

Dear Colleagues,

In vitro culturing of plant cells, tissues or organs is a typically a multi-stage process involving their cultivation on specialized media under aseptic conditions and controlled environmental conditions. For these multi-purpose cultures, critical phases include mass-multiplication, rooting of the resulting micro-shoots, and especially the adaptation of the obtained micro plantlets to ex vitro growth conditions. In particular, plantlets’ adaptation to the external environmental is considered a critical stage, as they are gradually transferred to an environment with low humidity and higher levels of full-spectrum light. Therefore, at this stage, it is crucial to use of a number of available bio-stimulants that would increase plant survival, such as commercial preparations of nitrogen-fixing Cyanobacteria, microalgae or macroalgae-derived stimulants, or various types of root mycorrhizal preparations. Research is ongoing,  as these must be appropriately matched for the species and even  cultivars being studied.

Currently, knowledge about another issue, the deliberate cultivation of plant tissue cultures contaminated with appropriate strains of microorganisms, is limited.  Such cultures are primarily used in basic research, although certain research applications are theoretically possible. However, research results are inconclusive in this regard.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.  Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Tissue culture contaminations
• Disinfection protocols
• Biocontrol agents (BCA)
• Bio-hardening methods
• Plant beneficial microbes
• Morphometric and biochemical analyses
• Ex vitro survival rate
• Cost-effective plant tissue culture protocols
• Deliberate multiplication of infected cultures

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Ewa Joanna Hanus-Fajerska
Guest Editor

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