Plant Genetics: Advances in Regeneration Pathways

Plant tissue culture is widely used in both primary and applied science. Applications range from plant development studies to functional gene studies, crop improvement, commercial micropropagation, virus elimination, and conservation of rare species.

Most plants use the C3 pathway for carbon fixation. However, some plants, such as sugar cane, corn, and cacti that grow in hot conditions, use alternative pathways to fix carbon and conserve energy loss due to photorespiration. Photorespiration is the process that occurs when the oxygen concentration is high. Under such conditions, the rubisco enzyme in the Calvin cycle binds O2 instead of CO2, which halts photosynthesis and consumes energy.
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...

Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.

Crop cultivation has a long history in human civilization, with records showing the cultivation of cereal plants beginning at around 8000 BC. This early plant breeding was developed primarily to provide a steady supply of food.

Seedless Vascular Plants Were the First Tall Plants on Earth

Plant hormones—or phytohormones—are chemical molecules that modulate one or more physiological processes of a plant. In animals, hormones are often produced in specific glands and circulated via the circulatory system. However, plants lack hormone-producing glands.