In Vitro Tissue Culture in Brachypodium : Applications and Challenges

has become an excellent model for plant breeding and bioenergy grasses that permits many fundamental questions in grass biology to be addressed. One of the constraints to performing research in many grasses has been the difficulty with which they can be genetically transformed and the generally low frequency of such transformations. In this review, we discuss the contribution that transformation techniques have made in biology as well as how could be used to determine the factors that might contribute to transformation efficiency. In particular, we highlight the latest research on the mechanisms that govern the gradual loss of embryogenic potential in a tissue culture and propose using as a model for other recalcitrant monocots.