In Vitro Culture of Crops: Bridging Heritage and Innovation

Dear Colleagues,

Harnessing in vitro plant cultures to address the dual challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change represents a relatively unexplored scientific frontier. This proposal focuses on emerging technologies and their applications to address global challenges such as climate change, food security, and the production of sustainable resources. This approach bridges conservation, sustainability, and biotechnology, offering innovative tools to preserve crop genetic resources and mitigate the effects of global warming. It also integrates interdisciplinary relevant topics like AI, 3D cultures, and space exploration.

Themes:

1. In Vitro Cultures and Food Security in a Changing Climate.
   • Application of in vitro cultures for the conservation of traditional food crops at risk.
   • Plant cell tissue banks to ensure the resilience of genetic food resources.
2. Crop Resilience to Extreme Climatic Conditions.
   • Development of cell lines and plant varieties tolerant to drought, salinity, and high temperatures.
   • In vitro manipulation of genetic traits to enhance plant adaptability to climate change.
3. Bioreactors for in vitro cultures as low-impact solutions for agricultural production.
4. New Developments in Food and Pharmaceutical Security.
   • Cellular cultures for the production of "in vitro" food (e.g., alternative plant-based proteins).
   • In vitro synthesis of high-value secondary metabolites for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.
5. In vitro cultures for bioremediation and the absorption of environmental contaminants.
6. Advanced Biotechnologies.
   • Applications of genetic editing (e.g., CRISPR-Cas9) to enhance crop yield.
   • Use of innovative biomaterials for culture supports.
7. Multidimensional Approaches: 3D Cultures and Plant Organoids.
8. Digitization and Automation.
   • Integration of artificial intelligence and sensors for automated culture monitoring.
   • Use of robotic systems for large-scale propagation.
9. In Vitro and Space Exploration.
   • Applications of in vitro plant cultures to support human life during long-term space missions.
   • Development of bioreactors for food and oxygen production in extraterrestrial environments.

Dr. Simona Lucioli
Guest Editor

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• crop in vitro cultures
• climate change
• food security
• crop resilience bioreactors
• bioremediation
• 3D plant cultures
• plant organoids
• digitization
• space exploration