Cell Suspension Cultures for the Study of Plant Cell Senescence

Plant senescence plays an important role in agriculture. Yields of cereal crops, stability and productivity of orchards, marketability of plant produce, all are affected by the senescence of plants or plant parts. Even successful somatic embryogenesis, an increasingly important methodology for agriculture and forestry and one far removed from senescence, must contend with cellular and tissue senescence (Durzan, this volume). The study of plant senescence, however readily justifiable, is difficult to pursue given its complexity with facets at the intracellular, cellular, organismal and population levels. Can plant cell cultures be manipulated in such a manner that the cells will undergo senescence and if so, will the cells be useful as prototypes for the study of this complex phenomenon? What are the potentials and the constraints of this approach? These are the questions addressed in this chapter.