In Vitro Technology in Plant Conservation: Relevance to Biocultural Diversity

Abstract

Plant diversity is critical to the functioning of human societies, and evidence shows that plant conservation success is driven by integrative approaches that include social and biological factors. Plants have a unique capacity to reproduce asexually, and propagation practices can yield large numbers of plantlets. These plantlets can be used in several ways to fulfil conservation goals including the repopulation of regions with declining densities of threatened species that hold cultural meaning. However, the potential of in vitro technologies in the conservation of plants that hold cultural meaning is understudied. In this paper we focus upon the roles of in vitro technologies in the conservation of plants relevant to biocultural environments and provide an overview of potential knowledge gaps at the interface of in vitro and plants used traditionally, including those meaningful to Indigenous Peoples. We conclude that in vitro technologies can be powerful tools in biocultural conservation if they are deployed in a manner respectful of the socio-cultural context in which plants play a role, but that further research is needed in this regard. We suggest several epistemological points to facilitate future research.

In Vitro Propagation of Garcinia livingstonei T. Anderson (African Mangosteen) a Woody Tree Species through the Culture of Matured Seed Segments

“…In the current study, the G. livingstonei plants were regenerated by using matured seed explants. The Garcinia species possess apomictic seeds and, thus, the regeneration of plants using apomictic seeds leads to a uniform genetic makeup; due to this reason, many researchers have used seeds and seed segments as the primary material for micropropagation [12,17,27].…”

“…This can promote an increase in the genetic variability of the populations [16]. Another major area of application of in vitro culture is the preservation of genetic material using cryopreservation [17]. The in vitro regeneration protocol developed for Garcinia livingstonei is useful for the ex situ conservation of this useful plant.…”

Genome Mining as an Alternative Way for Screening the Marine Organisms for Their Potential to Produce UV-Absorbing Mycosporine-like Amino Acid

“…Anthropogenic pollution from chemicals such as agricultural pesticides, industrial chemicals, and air and water pollutants has been recognised as a global problem and an increased risk to humanity and environmental health [ 64 , 65 ]. Current issues important for environmental protection and preserving natural biodiversity could be partially resolved by the use of environmentally friendly, natural compounds in biotechnological applications [ 38 , 66 ].…”

In Vitro Conservation through Slow Growth Storage Technique of Fruit Species: An Overview of the Last 10 Years

“…Nowadays, plant biotechnology offers important options for the collection, molecular characterization, pathogen indexing and elimination, propagation, preservation and exchange of disease-free plant genetic resources. In particular, in vitro techniques can provide a potential contribution to overcome some of the issues related to plant genetic resources preservation [ 1 ].…”