Abstract
When very weak electric currents of the order of 1 microamp were passed between the tissue and the culture medium, dramatic increases in growth were recorded for tobacco callus. The effect was dependent on the direction of the current. When the callus was made negative, the growth rate was stimulated by about 70 percent, whereas current in the reverse direction was slightly inhibitory. The effect might have commercial application in enhancing the yield of biomass for the production of secondary products by immobilised plant tissue cultures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Lund, E.J. 1923. Electrical control of organic polarity in the egg of Fucus. Bot. Gaz. 76: 288–301.
Jaffe, L.F. 1966. Electrical currents through the developing Fucus egg. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 56: 1102–1109.
Robinson, K.R. and Jaffe, L.F. 1975. Polarizing Fucoid eggs drive a calcium current through themselves. Science 187: 70–72.
Jaffe, L.F. and Nuccitelli, R. 1977. Electrical controls of development. Ann. Rev. Biophys. Bioeng. 6: 445–476.
Jaffe, L.F. 1977. Electrophoresis along cell membranes. Nature 265: 600–602.
Poo, M.-M. and Robinson, K.R. 1977. Electrophoresis of concanavalin A receptors along muscle cell membranes. Nature 265: 602–605.
Trewavas, A. 1982. Possible control points in plant development, p. 7–27. In: The Molecular Biology of Plant Development. Smith, H. and Grierson, D. (eds.) Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Gamborg, O.L., Miller, R.A. and Ojima, K. 1968. Nutrient requirements of suspension cultures of soybean root cells. Exp. Cell Res. 50: 151–158.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rathore, K., Goldsworthy, A. Electrical Control of Growth in Plant Tissue Cultures. Nat Biotechnol 3, 253–254 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0385-253
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0385-253
- Springer Nature America, Inc.