Red Beet Hairy Root Cultures

The invention of hairy root induction from various higher plants has ­provided a new set of hopes for using such organs in vitro as an alternative to cell cultures, chiefly because of their genetic stabilities that impart them high biochemical consistencies. Several research groups characterized different types of red beet hairy root clones, their scaled-up performances as well as their applications for various basic studies. Rather than cell cultures, hairy roots of red beet have attracted the attention of more number of research groups, probably because of their genetic aspects, spectacular colors, various morphologies, clonal stability and for other technological challenges associated with their scale-up and product recovery. The astonishingly variable responses of a cultivar of red beet (Ruby Queen) to different strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes and the variable spectrum of morpho-physiological responses to nutrient components make red beet an ever interesting material for genetic as well as physiological studies, as discussed in this chapter. The fact that higher plants can transcribe animal genes and perfectly translate them into functional proteins has attracted newer opportunities for obtaining boundless number of important therapeutic proteins from cultured plant cells and organs. Hairy roots are often chosen for such purposes because of their consistent performances under fully manageable in vitro conditions. Many opportunities could also be realized with red beet hairy roots.