Hairy root culture
Encyclopedia
Hairy root culture, also called transformed root culture, is a type of plant tissue culture
that is used to study plant metabolic processes or to produce valuable secondary metabolites, often with plant genetic engineering
.
A naturally occurring soil bacterium Agrobacterium rhizogenes
that contains root inducing plasmids (also called Ri plasmids) can infect plant roots and cause them to produce a food source for the bacterium, opines
, and to grow abnormally. The abnormal roots are particularly easy to culture in artificial media because hormones are not needed, and they are neoplastic, with indefinite growth. The neoplastic roots produced by A. rhizogenes infection have a high growth rate (compared to untransformed adventitious roots), as well as genetic and biochemical stability.
Currently the main constraint for commercial utilization of hairy root culture is the development and up-scaling of appropriate (bioreactors) vessels for the delicate and sensitive hairy roots.
So far, the only company based on Hairy root Cultures as an industrial level is a Swiss company called ROOTec bioactives AG in Witterswil (SO).
, and are particularly valuable for studies of the metabolic processes involved in phytoremediation.
Further applications include detailed studies of fundamental molecular, genetic and biochemical aspects of genetic transformation and of hairy root induction.
to also contain T-DNA, used for genetic transformation (biotransformation) of the plant cells. The resulting genetically transformed root cultures can produce high levels of secondary metabolites, comparable or even higher than those of intact plants.
.
Plant tissue culture
Plant tissue culture is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition. Plant tissue culture is widely used to produce clones of a plant in a method known as micropropagation...
that is used to study plant metabolic processes or to produce valuable secondary metabolites, often with plant genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
.
A naturally occurring soil bacterium Agrobacterium rhizogenes
Agrobacterium rhizogenes
Agrobacterium rhizogenes is a Gram negative soil bacterium that produces hairy root disease in dicotyledonous plants.A...
that contains root inducing plasmids (also called Ri plasmids) can infect plant roots and cause them to produce a food source for the bacterium, opines
Opines
Opines are low molecular weight compounds found in plant crown gall tumors or hairy root tumors produced by parasitic bacteria of the genus Agrobacterium. Opine biosynthesis is catalyzed by specific enzymes encoded by genes contained in a small segment of DNA , which is part of the Ti plasmid,...
, and to grow abnormally. The abnormal roots are particularly easy to culture in artificial media because hormones are not needed, and they are neoplastic, with indefinite growth. The neoplastic roots produced by A. rhizogenes infection have a high growth rate (compared to untransformed adventitious roots), as well as genetic and biochemical stability.
Currently the main constraint for commercial utilization of hairy root culture is the development and up-scaling of appropriate (bioreactors) vessels for the delicate and sensitive hairy roots.
So far, the only company based on Hairy root Cultures as an industrial level is a Swiss company called ROOTec bioactives AG in Witterswil (SO).
Metabolic studies
Hairy root cultures can be used for phytoremediationPhytoremediation
Phytoremediation Phytoremediation Phytoremediation (from the Ancient Greek , and Latin (restoring balance or remediation) describes the treatment of environmental problems (bioremediation) through the use of plants that mitigate the environmental problem without the need to excavate the...
, and are particularly valuable for studies of the metabolic processes involved in phytoremediation.
Further applications include detailed studies of fundamental molecular, genetic and biochemical aspects of genetic transformation and of hairy root induction.
Genetically transformed cultures
The Ri plasmids can be engineeredGenetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
to also contain T-DNA, used for genetic transformation (biotransformation) of the plant cells. The resulting genetically transformed root cultures can produce high levels of secondary metabolites, comparable or even higher than those of intact plants.
Use in plant propagation
Hairy root culture can also be used for regeneration of whole plants and for production of artificial seedsPlant embryogenesis
Plant embryogenesis is the process that produces a plant embryo from a fertilised ovule by asymmetric cell division and the differentiation of undifferentiated cells into tissues and organs. It occurs during seed development, when the single-celled zygote undergoes a programmed pattern of cell...
.
See also
- Crown gall, a plant disease with similar uses caused by a related bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciensAgrobacterium tumefaciensAgrobacterium tumefaciens is the causal agent of crown gall disease in over 140 species of dicot. It is a rod shaped, Gram negative soil bacterium...