In general, in vitro virus elimination is based on the culture of isolated meristem, and in addition thermotherapy, chemotherapy, electrotherapy, and cryotherapy can also be applied. During these processes, plantlets suffer several stresses, which can result in low rate of survival, inhibited growth, incomplete development, or abnormal morphology. Even though the in vitro cultures survive the treatment, further development can be inhibited; thus, regeneration capacity of treated in vitro shoots or explants play also an important role in successful virus elimination. Sensitivity of genotypes to treatments is very different, and the rate of destruction largely depends on the physiological condition of plants as well. Exposure time of treatments affects the rate of damage in almost every therapy. Other factors such as temperature, illumination (thermotherapy), type and concentration of applied chemicals (chemo- and cryotherapy), and electric current intensity (electrotherapy) also may have a great impact on the rate of damage. However, there are several ways to decrease the harmful effect of treatments. This review summarizes the harmful effects of virus elimination treatments applied on tissue cultures reported in the literature. The aim of this review is to expound the solutions that can be used to mitigate phytotoxic and other adverse effects in practice.

The utilization of plant bioactive composites has concerned substantial attention due to their possible use in the development of novel antibiotics, containing the environmentally sustainable synthesis of nanoparticles. In the current study, a green and eco-friendly process was employed to synthesize silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and to evaluate their anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer potentials. The characterization of the Ag-NPs involved UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The UV-vis spectrum of Ag-NPs was 437 nm. The FTIR absorption peaks detected at 685.48 cm ⁻¹ confirmed their characteristics. The FESEM displayed that Ag-NPs have an average size of 30 nm. The TEM revealed that the Ag-NPs have an irregular spherical shape with 16 nm size distribution. The XRD results provided a strong indication that the green synthesized Ag-NPs was of high purity with crystalline nature. The anti-bacterial properties were investigated at different concentrations for both the ethanolic tangerine peel extract and Ag-NPs. The results of anti-bacterial activity showed that 100 µg·mL ⁻¹ was potent concentration, but the Ag-NPs were more effective than the ethanolic tangerine peel extract. For the ethanolic extract, the inhibition zone was 17.50 ± 0.20 mm for K. pneumoniae and 14.40 ± 0.20 mm for B. cereus . For the Ag-NPs, the inhibition zone was 25.50 mm for K. pneumoniae and 20.50 mm for B. cereus. Furthermore, the antioxidant examination revealed more potent free radical scavenging activity of the Ag-NPs than the ethanolic peel extract alone. The ethanolic extract ranged 46–77% while the Ag-NPs ranged 57–88%. Additionally, the anti-proliferative of the Ag-NPs against the lung cancer cell line (A549) was more potent than the ethanolic extract alone. The cytotoxic activity was 90.03% and 78.50%, respectively. The anti-proliferative effect of Ag-NPs is attributed to cell death, induced apoptosis, and enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species. Our findings highlight the potential and further utilization of Ag-NPs in medicinal applications particularly for cancer therapeutics.

The pea ( Pisum sativum L.) is an important pulse crop but the growing area is limited because of its relatively low yield stability. In many parts of the world the most important abiotic factor limiting the survival and yield of plants is the restricted water supply, and the crop productivity can only be increased by improving drought tolerance. Development of pea cultivars well adapted to dry conditions has been one of the major tasks in breeding programs. Conventional breeding of new cultivars for dry conditions required extensive selection and testing for yield performance over diverse environments using various biometrical approaches. Several morphological and biochemical traits have been proven to be related to drought resistance, and methods based on physiological attributes can also be used in development of better varieties. Osmoregulation plays a role in the maintenance of turgor pressure under water stress conditions, and information on the behaviour of genotypes under osmotic stress can help selection for drought resistance. Biotechnological approaches including in vitro test, genetic transformation, and the use of molecular markers and mutants could be useful tools in breeding of pea. In this minireview we summarized the present status of different approaches related to drought stress improvement in the pea.

In vitro experiments were conducted to study the responses of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes to osmotic stress. In vitro shoot cultures of 27 breeding lines and their drought-tolerant parents (referent lines: C103 and C107) were tested under osmotic stress induced by addition of PEG 6000 (Mw = 6000; 5.0, 7.5, 10.0%, w/v), D-mannitol (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 M) and PEG 600 (Mw = 600; 2.5, 5.0, 7.5%, w/v) to the Murashige-Skoog medium. Stress index (SI) was calculated from shoot length (SL) and root length (RL), root numbers (RN) and the rate of surviving shoots (SR) (SI_SL;RL;RN;SR = Parameter_SL;RL;RN;SR of treated shoots/Parameter_SL;RL;RN;SR of control shoots × 100) to compare genotypes. In the average of each breeding line and concentration, the osmotic agents resulted in SI values of 40.1, 60.8, 82.6 and 76.0 for SI_SL, SI_RL, SI_RN and SI_SR, respectively. In general, all SI values of C103 and SI_RL,RN of C107 were significantly higher than those of the breeding lines. Nine breeding lines were found to be promising based on their final ranking. According to the results, 7.5% and 10% PEG 6000 or 0.2 M and 0.3 M D-mannitol treatments proved to be suitable for the selection of osmotic stress-tolerant genotypes.

Gaillardia pulchella Foug. is a widely studied plant because of its high pharmacological and ornamental value. The leaves of G. pulchella were used for inducing callus and subsequent plant regeneration as it is the primary source of phytocompounds. The purpose of the present investigation was to formulate an in vitro propagation method for Gaillardia by using leaf explants in MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium. The best callus induction was observed on high (2.0 mg/L) α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and a low (0.5 mg/L) 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) with callus induction frequency of 91.66%. The leaf callus also demonstrated high caulogenesis ability (95.83%), with an average 5.2 shoots/callus mass at 0.5 mg/L BAP and 2.0 mg/L NAA. Indole Acetic acid (IAA) at 1.0 mg/L had the maximum rooting percentage (79.17%) with 12.4 roots per shoot. Rooted plantlets were later transferred to greenhouse conditions, showing a survivability rate of 75–80%. The physiological parameters, i.e., phenolic compounds and the flavonoids’ level, in the DPPH assay were higher in leaves obtained in vitro compared to callus formed from leaves and field-obtained (mother) leaves. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of methanol extracts of leaves (in vivo and in vitro) and leaf callus presented a wide array of compounds. In callus extract, some 34 phytocompounds were identified. Some of them were 3-hydroxy-2,3-dihydromaltol (25.39%), isoamyl acetate (11.63%), palmitic acid (11.55%), 4-methyloxazole (7.54%), and 5-methoxypyrrolidin-2-one (7.49%). Leaves derived in vivo and in vitro had 45 and 28 phytocompounds, respectively, belonging to different classes like lignans, phenols, terpenoids, alkaloids and fatty acids, etc. Those findings demonstrated that the leaf derived callus and the leaves are the potential stable source of several compounds with medicinal importance. The developed protocol may provide an alternative source of compounds without affecting wild flora.