Silver Nanoparticles for Enhanced Sustenance of Plant Tissue Culture

Plant tissue culture (PTC) refers to a group of techniques that allow the establishment, manipulation, and development of any part of a plant, under artificial, aseptic, and controlled conditions. PTC applications include plant health, production of secondary metabolites, genetic improvement, germplasm conservation, and micropropagation. Unfortunately, despite its many advantages, several factors affect the sustenance of PTC, including explant contamination, the asepsis of culture media, in vitro ethylene accumulation in some species, and the low in vitro multiplication rate. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are an alternative strategy for eliminating contaminants and inhibiting the effects of ethylene. Additionally, AgNPs have been used as a developmental biostimulant at low concentrations, an effect known as hormesis. This review discusses the use of AgNPs as a microbicidal agent, an inhibitor of ethylene effects, promoter of development, and a growth biostimulant, and can act as nano-elicitors to increase the production of secondary metabolites for the enhanced sustenance of PTC.