Potential applications of plant in vitro cultures in phytoremediation studies

The main aim of this review is to assess the advantages and disadvantages of use of in vitro plant cell and organ cultures as useful research tools in process of phytoremediation. Plant tissue cultures including cell suspensions, callus and hairy roots are frequently used in the phytoremediation research, mostly as a model plant systems. One of the most important advantages of using in vitro cultures is the ability to examine the metabolic capabilities of plant cells as well as their capacity for toxicity tolerance in controlled conditions without any interference from microorganisms and processes occurring naturally in soils. The results obtained from plant cell or tissue cultures can be used to predict the responses of plants to environmental stressors and also to mass produce stress induced proteins and other metabolites. The aim of this review is to present possible applications for in vitro cultures in phytoremediation studies.