Insight View of Topical Trends on Synthetic
Seeds of Rare and Endangered Plant
Species and Its Future Prospects
B. Nandini and P. Giridhar
Abstract In the present era, global plant biodiversity is dilapidated annually at a
pioneering rate. Preservation of plant genetic resources has been threatened by the
safety with foremost problems by limiting its efficiency. Contemporary trends on
synthetic seeds, i.e., artificially encapsulated somatic embryos, open up new avenue
in agriculture. It is one of the most promising alternate tools for propagation of many
rare and endangered plant species. Success of synthetic seeds endowed with its
protective hydrogel coating by increasing the growth of micropropagule in the field
conditions. Synthetic seeds are also helpful in stipulations of their role in preventing
the spread of plant diseases, and it is a gifted path for scale-up of multi-clone
production for commercial purpose. Synthetic seeds are more durable for handling,
transportation, and storage. Presently, it is well documented that any kind of
non-embryogenic explants from tissue culture can be used for synthetic seed pro-
duction like shoot tips, axillary buds, nodal segments, protocorms, bulblets, section
of callus, bipolar propagule, or unipolar propagule. Currently, significant focus has
been given for synthetic seeds, as they are economical for conservation of germ-
plasm, maintenance of the genetic uniformity of plants through clonal propagation,
and direct deliverance to the field. Under this context, various effective protocols for
preparing synthetic seeds and conservation of plants are developed. Accordingly, an
appraisal on synthetic seed aspects of various endangered and rare plant species has
been contemplated, and the same will be covered in this chapter.
Keywords Synthetic seeds · Explants · Tissue culture · In vitro propagation ·
Encapsulation
Abbreviations
2,4-D 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
BAP 6-Benzylaminopurine
B. Nandini · P. Giridhar (*)
Plant Cell Biotechnology Department, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru, Karnataka, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
M. Faisal, A. A. Alatar (eds.), Synthetic Seeds,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24631-0_5
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