Currently, temporary immersion bioreactors are widely used for propagating plant material under controlled conditions. Commercial systems have become common tools due to their compact design and ability to expose tissues to liquid media at controlled intervals. This immersion provides advantages over continuous culture, such as uniform nutrient distribution, faster growth, and higher quality material. However, these devices also present limitations: the liquid medium remains in constant contact with the vessel, complicating replacement, and they hinder access to plant material during cutting and harvesting.
To address this problem, a group of researchers from the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) has developed GreenTray®, a new temporary immersion bioreactor for in vitro plant tissue culture.
GreenTray® is a temporary immersion bioreactor in which the plant grows on a tray-based structure. It is designed so that the liquid culture medium flows through the system at specific intervals by using a programmable controller that also regulates aeration and light cycles. Furthermore, this bioreactor allows plant explants to be handled collectively without removing them from the tray or using tools such as forceps. To start a new culture, selected shoots are cut with scissors and transferred to a new tray.
The research team has validated GreenTray® over several years in specialized in vitro plant culture facilities. They iterated the prototype to optimize plant growth and improve usability.
GreenTray® offers users several benefits over commercially available culture systems:
- Allows effective aeration of the culture vessels, increasing CO2 concentration and thereby enhancing plant autotrophic growth and the ex-vitro acclimatization of the plant material.
- The culture medium that feeds the bioreactor is stored in an external glass, facilitating its replacement when needed.
- Although each bioreactor operates independently, up to 14 units can be managed with a single controller, providing flexible adaptation to production needs.
- Offers precise control over growing conditions, as parameters such as internal humidity levels can be easily adjusted through the aeration system.
IRTA is looking for a collaboration that leads to a commercial exploitation of GreenTray® in a near future.
Institution: Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA)
TRL: 7
Protection Status: GreenTray® is protected by a Spanish patent (ES 201831164) and a subsequent PCT extension.
Contacto: Carlos G. Gredilla / c.gredilla@viromii.com