ISSR Marker-Based Authentication of In Vitro-Derived Medicinal Plant Lines for Enhanced Phytochemical Production

Medicinal plants have been used to heal people with thousands of diseases. Phytochemicals are the main reason for a plant being a medicinal plant. Compared to field-grown plants, in vitro-derived plantlets have high phytochemical production. In vitro-derived plantlets are also the most reliable method for producing healthy, disease-free medicinal plants of superior quality, with enhanced phytochemical properties. Due to the presence of phytochemical compounds such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, and terpenoids, medicinal plants possess therapeutic properties. These therapeutic properties open doors to making a significant contribution to the pharmaceutical industry. Genetic fidelity is a critical factor in in vitro-derived plantlets, ensuring true-to-type plants. The application of Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers produces true-to-type in vitro plantlets by verifying genetic fidelity while supporting the scaling up of phytochemical production. The ISSR marker is an ideal marker for in vitro-based cultivation systems compared to other markers. ISSR, a DNA-based marker, is simple and fast. Even though ISSR markers are the most reliable markers for in vitro plantlets, the application process can be challenging. In this chapter, we discuss all aspects related to ISSR marker-based authentication of in vitro-derived medicinal plant lines for enhanced phytochemical production, including real-world applications, challenges and limitations, general procedures, and future prospects.