In vitro biotechnological approaches on Vanilla planifolia Andrews: advancements and opportunities

In vitro biotechnological advancement of Vanilla plays a major role in germplasm conservation, genetic engineering, accelerated clonal multiplication and production of disease-free plants with enviable aromatic properties. Several attempts have been taken place for the establishment of efficient in vitro protocol for Vanilla in the past few decades. Optimization of various conditions during different phases of micropropagation, for instance development of in vitro aseptic cultures, multiple shoot regeneration, rooting and acclimatization of the plantlets are discussed in this review. In addition to basic micropropagation techniques, various other in vitro biotechnological applications such as clonal fidelity assessment, genetic transformation, synthetic seed technology and cryopreservation are also highlighted. Apart from the existing data, applied aspects like embryo rescue, mutation breeding, genetic engineering, protoplast fusion, somaclonal variation, in vitro enhancement of vanillin production through cell suspension culture, hairy root culture or bioreactors and cryopreservation need to be investigated further. Overall, the current review gives a synopsis on progress and prospect of in vitro culture of Vanilla.