Applications of 3D Printing in Plant Science-An Updated Review

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a rapidly evolving field, with a focus on fabricating organ and tissue constructs by layering organic materials, living cells, and biochemicals according to a given digital mode. 3D printing, also called Additive Manufacturing (AM), has the potential to be a technological revolution in the manufacturing industry. Some of the applications of 3D printing technology in plant science are bioprinting of plant cells, plant tissue cultured cell production, plant tissue culture lab-ware, production of plant secondary metabolites without plants, plant derived compounds for nozzle design, plant phenomics, plant phenotyping, ecological research, as a botany teaching tool, green bioprinting, and printing laboratory equipment. Plant bio-printing may improve understanding of plant shape and morphogenesis, and could serve for the mass production of desired tissues or plants, or even the production of plant-based biomaterial for industrial uses. Bioprinting is the ultimate and the most progressive step of engineering applied to plant cell culture. However, plant bioprinting may be difficult due to rigid plant cell walls, unlike animal cells that do not have a cell wall, although plant cells have a distinct advantage, totipotency, which allows a plant cell, under strict environmental conditions, to develop a tissue scaffold that serves as the precursor for an organ, and the whole plant itself, organogenic steps that are under strict genetic control. The culture methodologies of bioprinted plant cells could be assimilated to the culture of immobilized cells. Additionally, sustainable practices, and the potential impact of factors influencing 3D printing must be considered.