Synergistic Role of Plant Tissue Culture and Plant Growth-Promoting Micro-Organisms as Conservation Strategies for Himalayan Medicinal Plants Amidst Climate Change

Over the last few decades, the world has undergone drastic climatic change due to overexploitation of natural resources and anthropogenic factors such as increased pollution, population growth and illegal over-exploitation of plants. Climate change is ambiguous and imparts various environmental stresses that include temperature rise, low temperatures, drought, heavy rainfall followed by floods and water logging, an increase in carbon dioxide concentration, mineral deficiency in soil, etc. These environmental stressors have had a negative impact and threatened various medicinal plants in the area of the Himalaya, thereby compelling them to adapt to environmental changes or go extinct under environmental influences. Nevertheless, variations in the environment and their consequences exhibit disparities among different plant species, placing several plant species at a critical risk of extinction. It is therefore important to understand and implement various innovative strategies to protect these important Himalayan medicinal plant species and, at the same time, conserve their genetic resources. Plant tissue culture has emerged as one of the most promising and preferred conservation strategies for the endeavour to preserve Himalayan medicinal plants. However, micro-propagated plants are also prone to drastic climatic impacts. Therefore, to boost the growth of the micro-propagated plants and their survival in extreme climatic circumstances, plant growth-promoting microorganisms have been considered as a possible possibility. In this chapter, we summarise the devastating effects of climate change on the growth of Himalayan medicinal plant species, along with other additional factors that threaten their continued existence. We further emphasise the role of plant tissue culture as a conservation strategy. In addition, the beneficial impact of plant growth-promoting microorganisms on assisting micro-propagated plants to thrive in extreme environments are discussed in detail. Hence, this chapter aims to provide substantial insights into the existing research findings, with the objective of promoting more climate-resilient medicinal plants in the Himalayan region as a conservation strategy.