Cell suspension cultures in legume crops: a review

Legumes constitute one of the largest and most important families of flowering plants, comprising 650 to 750 genera and 18,000 to 19,000 species including herbs, climbers, shrubs, and trees. Among the legumes, many important crop plants such as soybeans, beans, chickpeas, peas and alfalfa, provide valuable compounds for the diet of many people worldwide. However, nowadays, due to overexploitation, deforestation, and pollution, it is often not convenient to obtain extracts or metabolites directly from wild plants. For these reasons, in recent decades, there has been an increase in tissue culture research aimed at developing plant cell suspensions or systems from all types of legumes as a promising alternative for the sustainable, rapid, and efficient production of proteins, essential minerals, vitamins, and secondary metabolites. However, it is essential to establish conditions and growth cycle parameters tailored to each culture. This study reviews key advances in cell suspension cultures of some legume species, encompassing both culture establishment and their characterization.