Morphogenic Events in Ferns: Single and Multicellular Explants In Vitro

In spite of the recent description of somatic embryogenesis for ferns, there are a lot of evidences that the morphogenic potential of their cells was the objective of numerous studies. The chapter tries to give the summary of the information of morphogenic potential of both fern generations. The fern body provides a source of various explants, both single-celled and multicellular. Under various plant growth regulator regimes, plant regeneration occurs; however, it is stressed that for some of developmental stages, hormone-free medium is required. For numerous species, the system of sporophyte regeneration was presented and discussed. The attention is paid for callus and cell suspension, and their initiation and culture are maintained as the stage of the great potential which might be explored for fern somatic cell manipulation. Protoplasts are the objective of somatic cell genetic manipulation in plants; however, for ferns the number of papers involving protoplast isolation and their subsequent culture is scant. Independently, the attention is paid for green globular bodies, multicellular structures with unlimited shoot regeneration potential.