Abstract
Chronic microbial contamination is probably the major problem faced by all involved in the micropropagation of plants, and has particularly serious economic consequences for commercial micropropagation companies [7]. Indeed, it is not unusual for whole batches of plant cultures to become contaminated synchronously, after appearing to be axenic for many subcultures; (Dr W. Morgan, personal communication). It is perhaps surprising, therefore, that one perceived advantage of micropropagated plants is their disease free and axenic status [6]. This apparent conflict of evidence and belief results from what has been described as a natural reluctance to admit to contamination and a lack of fundamental understanding of the sources and biology of contaminating microorganisms [7]. The present paper aims to redress this unsatisfactory situation by focusing on latent bacterial infections, which include endophytic contaminants.
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Gunson, H.E., Spencer-Phillips, P.T.N. (1994). Latent bacterial infections: epiphytes and endophytes as contaminants of micropropagated plants. In: Lumsden, P.J., Nicholas, J.R., Davies, W.J. (eds) Physiology, Growth and Development of Plants in Culture. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0790-7_43
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0790-7_43
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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