Bioreactor systems for micropropagation of plants: present scenario and future prospects

Abstract

Plant micropropagation has been adapted in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and other related fields for large-scale production of elite plants. The use of liquid media and adoption of bioreactors have escalated the production of healthy plants. Several liquid-phase, gas-phase, temporary immersion, and other modified bioreactors have been used for plant propagation. The design, principle, operational mode, merits, and demerits of various bioreactors used for the regeneration of propagules, such as bulblets, cormlets, rhizomes, microtubers, shoots (subsequent rooting), and somatic embryos, are discussed here. In addition, various parameters that affect plant regeneration are discussed with suitable examples.

Product safety aspects of plant molecular farming

“…Bioreactors suitable for conventional microbial and mammalian cell cultures can also be used for plant cells [and even plant tissues and intact plants ( Murthy et al, 2023 )] with little or no modification ( Holland et al, 2013 ). These reactors provide a high degree of process containment and minimize or even eliminate some of the risks discussed above ( Huang and McDonald, 2012 ).…”

Comparison of semi-solid, liquid, and temporary immersion bioreactor systems for efficient plant regeneration of Gerbera jamesonii cv. ‘Shy Pink’

“…Improved multiplication and plantlet growth, as well as the ability to generate a large number of plantlets in a shorter amount of time, are bene ts of liquid cultures (Paek et al 2005). Furthermore, it is feasible to multiply commercially signi cant plants on a vast scale using a scale-up procedure (Watt 2012; Garcia-Ramirez 2023; Murthy et al 2023). However, because the propagules are continuously submerged in liquid cultures, there are signi cant drawbacks of micropropagation utilizing liquid cultures, such as morphological, anatomical, and physiological problems known as 'hyperhydricity' (Gao et al 2018).…”

“…These systems enable the cultured tissue to be immersed in a liquid medium for a predetermined amount of time before being exposed to a sterile gaseous environment within the cultures. The proper growth and development of propagules is facilitated by the gaseous environment of temporary immersion bioreactor cultures (Georgiev et al 2014; Garcia-Ramirez 2023; Murthy et al 2023). Furthermore, to facilitate a smooth transition upon ex vitro transplantation, the plants regenerated in TIS stimulates physiological functions such as photosynthesis, respiration, chlorophyll synthesis, and stomata function (Aragon et al 2014;Hwang et al 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, to facilitate a smooth transition upon ex vitro transplantation, the plants regenerated in TIS stimulates physiological functions such as photosynthesis, respiration, chlorophyll synthesis, and stomata function (Aragon et al 2014;Hwang et al 2022). Several temporary immersion bioreactor systems have been developed by various researchers such as the Recipient for Automated Temporary Immersion system (RITA®), Twin-ask system, Ebb and ow system, and rocker system (Georgiev 2014;Murthy et al 2023). Among various TIS bioreactors namely SETIS™ (Vervit 2024) which operates on the ebb and ow principle has several advantages in size and handling of culture vessels.…”

“…According to Garcia-Ramirez (2023) andMurthy et al (2023), gelling agents like agarose, gelrite, or agar greatly raise the cost of plantlet regeneration in vitro and restrict the potential for automated commercial micropropagation. An excellent method for lowering plant production costs and facilitating automation is the use of liquid media in plant regeneration systems(Peak et al 2005;Watt 2012).…”