Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)-A model system for tissue culture interventions and genetic engineering

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) has become a model system for tissue culture and genetic engineering over the past several decades and continues to remain the 'Cinderella of Plant Biotechnology', An ill vitro culture medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962), based on the studies with tobacco tissue cultures, has now been widely used as culture medium formulation for hundreds of plant species. Studies with tobacco tissue culture have shed light on the control of ill vitro growth and differentiation. Further, induction of haploids, microspore derived embryos and selection of mutant cell lines, have been achieved successfully. Tobacco has also been employed for the culture and fusion of plant protoplasts, providing invaluable information on way to explore the potential of somatic hybridization in other crops. Optimization of genetic transformation, using Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes, has been central to the cascade of advances in the area of transgenic plants. Developments in the field of molecular farming for the expression and/or production of recombinant proteins, vaccines and antibodies are gaining significance for industrial use and human healthcare.