40 Years since the Introduction of Plant Tissue and Cell Culture Techniques in Romania

Abstract

At the beginning of twenties century, based on the discoveries in cell biology in the previous decades, the German botanist Haberlandt (1902) has founded the concept of cell totipotency. The progress registered in biology between the two World Wars has led to the development of a new research field in plant physiology, based on nutrition, biochemistry and cytology that is the culture of plant tissue and cells in vitro. After the Second World War the practical applications of those new discoveries has allowed the development, after 1954, of a series of bio-industries at large scale, as clonal micropropagation of ornamentals and economically important crops, as well as the use of biomass in pharmaceutical industry as a source of secondary metabolites.

This new field has raised the interest and enthusiasm of the researchers in Romania as well. In 1975 three researchers from Romania being specialized abroad, i.e. Cachiţă D., Coman T and Brezeanu A., have learned the in vitro culture technology. Coming back to Romania those researchers have each developed in their home institutes new laboratories for plant in vitro culture. As a result of their research abroad, Cachiţă and Brezeanu did published four papers in European journals (France, Belgium and Germany) as well as one publication in USA.

Starting from 1989 annual symposia were organized in our country, the first being organized by the Biological Research Center and Institute of Agronomy, both from Cluj-Napoca. All presentations were published in the first volume of this symposium. 19th such symposia were organized during the following years but only 12 volumes have been successfully published.

It is also to be mentioned that in 1990 The Romanian Association of Plant Tissue and Cell Culture has been grounded, organization which has been involved in the organization of all national meetings in plant biotechnology. From 1975 our country was affiliated at The International Association for Plant Tissue Culture (IAPTC), many Romanian researchers participating to the international conferences and congresses taking place around the globe.