New Method of Reproducing Plants

ARS researchers have developed a way to allow companies to conduct large-scale plant production using biotechnology. In this invention, plant material is placed on a semi-permeable membrane overlaid on a tissue culture medium, allowing it to develop normally. Other methods of culturing cells result in large numbers of abnormal embryos not capable of germinating into normal plants. Before this invention, there has not been a reliable way of reproducing large quantities of normal embryos capable of germinating into seedlings from most plant tissue cultures. This invention has been proven effective in citrus plants, but may be effective in other plants as well. The production of large numbers of normal plants from embryo culture or embryo proliferation from embryogenic cell lines has been the goal of many tissue culture laboratories involved in producing synthetic seeds such as the forestry and other agricultural industries.

Please refer to patent application S.N. 09/884,798, "Method of Reproducing Plants by Somatic Embryogenesis," which was filed on June 19, 2001.