ABSTRACT
Plant tissue culture along with molecular genetics is a core technology for genetic engineering. This chapter discusses how the greatly anticipated societal benefits of this technology have been modulated by a good deal of concern regarding its safety. The first successful plant tissue and cell culture was accomplished by Gottlieb Haberlandt near the turn of the twentieth century when he reported the culture of leaf mesophyll tissue and hair cells. Innovative plant tissue culture techniques progressed rapidly during the 1930s due to the discovery that B vitamins and natural auxin were necessary for the growth of isolated tissues containing meristems. After 1950, rapid progress was made in plant tissue culture techniques. Also, much advancement was accomplished in the knowledge of plant development, especially in the area of the effects of plant growth regulators (PGRs). While intensive studies on the in vivo and in vitro effects of auxins continued, other classes of PGRs were now recognized.
