Somaclonal Variation and Clonal Fidelity in Commercial Micropropagation: Challenges and Perspectives

Plant tissue culture has been recognized as an essential technology in plant science research. This process is widely used to regenerate and conserve phenotypically and genetically identical plant resources. The advancements in tissue culture methods have become a feasible option for the micropropagation of plants at the commercial level. The success of commercial micropropagation necessitates genetic stability among regenerated plants. Sometimes, in vitro-grown plants show genetic and epigenetic alterations due to stressful artificial culture conditions, media compositions, and explant types. As a result, it is essential to ensure genetic stability among tissue culture-derived plantlets at a very early stage. Somaclonal variations can be detected by phenotypic assessment, cytogenetic, DNA-based molecular markers, bisulfite sequencing, and RNA sequencing. This review aims to describe the causes behind somaclonal variation, the selection of somaclonal variants, and their uses in crop and plant improvement at the commercial level. This study discusses the optimization processes of undesirable genetic and epigenetic variation among micropropagated plants and their application in global horticulture, agriculture, and forestry.