BIOTECHNOLOGY - Inshyna N.M. - 2009

CHAPTER 3. CELL ENGINEERING

Artificial Associations of Higher Plant Cell Cultures and Microorganisms

Experimental Cell systems comprising PLANT Cells AND microorganisms are referred to as associations.

Associations can be:

- intracellular (microorganisms are introduced into isolated protoplasts of higher plants);

- intercellular (plant cells and microorganisms are co-cultured).

The creation of PLANT CELL AND microorganism associations is of significant

theoretical and practical importance. The theoretical value lies in the EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF the symbiotic origin hypothesis of Eukaryotic cells; the reconstruction of individual Stages of the evolutionary process; and the modeling of natural symbiotic relationships between plants and microorganisms, which play a crucial role in atmospheric Nitrogen Fixation.

For applied purposes, experimental cell associations are used to enhance the productivity of valuable metabolite synthesis by plant cells, as well as to generate plants with novel traits. For instance, researchers are exploring the possibility of developing plants capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen by introducing nitrogen-fixing microorganisms. Experiments have been conducted on introducing Bacteria and Yeasts into isolated protoplasts.

The following Methods for introducing microorganisms into plant cell protoplasts have been developed: endocytosis, Integration of the protoplast and microorganism membranes, and Introduction of microorganisms encapsulated in Liposomes. However, viable systems based on isolated protoplasts have not yet been obtained, and further research is required.