Plant Tissue Culture and Its Agricultural Applications presents the proceedings of the 41st University of Nottingham Easter School in Agricultural Science held in England. The sessions covered in this volume reflect the revolution of tissue culture and its role in the propagation of elite plant material and the development of improved genotypes. This book is organized into four main sections. The first section chronicles the revolution of the plant tissue culture. This includes papers on clonal propagation, morphogenesis, germplasm storage, plant health, and genetic improvement. The core of this volume is covered by the introductory and the final chapters which interrelate the different subjects areas covered by the proceedings and provide a realistic assessment of future research required for the plant tissue culture revolution to come to fruition. This book will be useful to readers interested in understanding the history, evolution, and future of plant tissue culture and its applications in the agricultural sector.

Plant tissue culture has a long history, dating back to the work of Gottlieb Haberlandt and others at the end of the 19th century, but the associated concepts and techniques have reached a level of usefulness and application which has never been greater. The technical innovations have given new insights into fundamental aspects of plant differentiation and development, and have paved the way to the identification of strategies for the genetic manipula tion of plants. It is the aim of this manual to deliver a broad range of these techniques in a form which is accessible to students and research scientists of diverse backgrounds, including those with little or no previous experience. The themes of the manual aim to reflect those research areas which have been advanced by tissue culture technology. As was the case for the sister volume Plant Molecular Biology Manual, the objective has been from the start to produce a manual which is at home on the laboratory bench. The plastic-covered, ring-bound format has proved to be most popular and is retained here. Equally, the emphasis has been on producing a collection of detailed step-by-step protocols, each supplemented with an introductory text and practical footnotes, to provide the next best thing to a supervisor at one's shoulder.

Automation and Environmental Control in Plant Tissue Culture rigorously explores the new challenges faced by modern plant tissue culture researchers and producers worldwide: issues of cost efficiency, automation, control, and optimization of the in vitro microenvironment. This book achieves a critical balance between the economic, engineering and biological viewpoints, and presents well-balanced, unique, and clearly organized perspectives on current initiatives in the tissue culture arena. Each chapter offers guidelines leading towards an exhaustive, unprecedented level of control over in vitro growth, based on emerging technologies of robotics, machine vision, environmental sensors and regulation, and systems analysis. Unlike other tissue culture books which focus on specific crops and techniques, this book spans the broad range of major tissue culture production systems, and advances evidence on how some underrated aspects of the process actually determine the status of the end product. Key researchers from industry and academia have joined to give up-to-date research evidence and analysis. The collection comprises an essential reference for industrial-scale tissue culture producers, as well as any researcher interested in optimizing in vitro production.

This book is divided into five sections. The first section deals with the methodology and bioresource generation, techniques related to genetic engineering, and gene transfer to the nuclear genome and chloroplast genome. The new techniques of genome profiling and gene silencing are also presented. The second section of the book covers the classical aspect of plant biotechnology viz. tissue culture and micropropagation. Use of genetic engineering via Agrobacterium and direct transfer of DNA through particle bombardment to develop transformed plants in Artemisia, castor and orchids, and production of recombinant proteins in plant cells have been dealt with in the third section. The fourth section addresses the abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in plants. The basic biology of some of the stress responses, and designing plants for stress tolerance is discussed in this section. The fifth section examines medicinal plants and alkaloid production.

Robert Hall and a panel of expert researchers present a comprehensive collection of the most frequently used and broadly applicable techniques for plant cell and tissue culture. Readily reproducible and extensively annotated, the methods cover culture initiation, maintenance, manipulation, application, and long-term storage, with emphasis on techniques for genetic modification and micropropagation. Many of these protocols are currently used in major projects designed to produce improved varieties of important crop plants. Plant Cell Culture Protocols's state-of-the-art techniques are certain to make the book today's reference of choice, an indispensable tool in the development of new transgenic plants and full-scale commercial applications.

This title provides a general overview of recent developments and research into types of systems and their uses in the agricultural and horticultural industry. 64 papers are included, containing both theoretical models and applied examples for greenhouse systems, harvesting technology and plant factory systems.

Scientists within the field of plant biotechnology are in a constant search for techniques that can, in the simplest manner possible, answer the genetic and biochemical questions that underlie developmental processes. Thin Cell Layer Culture System not only takes an in-depth look at a technique that has had so much success in attempting, through various practical models and systems, to answer these issues, but also represents a celebration of almost 30 years of research that has covered a massive scope of plant species and areas of study. The initial studies conducted on tobacco thin cell layers (TCLs) - proving that organogenesis can be strictly controlled in vitro - allowed plant research to benefit from this finding, expanding this knowledge in a practical and applied manner into the biotechnological fields of tissue culture and micropropagation, cell and organ genetics and biochemistry. The chapters in this book tell the enigmatic tale of TCLs. An historical perspective opens the scene for an inquiry into the possible cellular, biochemical and genetic processes that allow for the controlled development of a TCL into any organ type. The success of the system is further demonstrated in both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous species, covering successful organogenesis and in vitro flowering in species within ornamental, leguminous and wood crops, cereals and grasses. Methodologies are outlined in detail, as is the rationale behind the TCL-organogenesis-developmental sequel. The TCL method, shown to be superior to many conventional micropropagation systems, has also shown to be vital in the recovery of transgenic plants. This book is an essential part of every plant, cell and developmental biologist, geneticist and tissue culturalist's shelf as it addresses the primary issue of any plant: the cell, the tissue, and their subsequent development into a highly organized system.

Heredity, genes and DNA. Synthesis without cells. Microorganisms as producers of feedstock chemicals. Gene cloning opens up a new frontier in health. The microbial production of biochemicals. Single-cell proteins. Bacterial leaching and biomining. Bacteria and the environment. Biological nitrogen fixation. Plant cell and tissue culture. Improving crop plants by the introduction of isolated genes. Monoclonal antibodies and their applications. Site-directed antibodies in biology and medicine. New methods for the diagnosis of genetic diseases. The prospect of gene therapy for human hereditary diseases. Biotechnology, international competition and regulatory strategies.

Plant Cell and Tissue Culture gives an exhaustive account of plant cell culture and genetic transformation, including detailed chapters on all major field and plantation crops. Part A presents a comprehensive coverage of all necessary laboratory techniques for the initiation, nutrition, maintenance and storage of plant cell and tissue cultures, including discussions on these topics, as well as on morphogenesis and regeneration, meristem and shoot tip culture, plant protoplasts, mutant cell lines, variation in tissue cultures, isogenic lines, fertilization control, cryopreservation, transformation, and the production of secondary metabolites. Part B then proceeds into detail on the specific in vitro culture of specific crops, including cereals, legumes, vegetables, potatoes, other roots and tubers, oilseeds, temperate fruits, tropical fruits, plantation crops, forest trees and ornamentals. Plant Cell and Tissue Culture is, and is likely to remain, the laboratory manual of choice, as well as a source of inspiration and a guide to all workers in the field.