It is my privilege to contribute the foreword for this unique volume
entitled: "Plant Tissue Culture Engineering," edited by S. Dutta Gupta
and Y. Ibaraki. While there have been a number of volumes published
regarding the basic methods and applications of plant tissue and cell
culture technologies, and even considerable attention provided to
bioreactor design, relatively little attention has been afforded to the
engineering principles that have emerged as critical contributions to
the commercial applications of plant biotechnologies. This volume,
"Plant Tissue Culture Engineering," signals a turning point: the
recognition that this specialized field of plant science must be
integrated with engineering principles in order to develop efficient,
cost effective, and large scale applications of these technologies. I am
most impressed with the organization of this volume, and the extensive
list of chapters contributed by expert authors from around the world who
are leading the emergence of this interdisciplinary enterprise. The
editors are to be commended for their skilful crafting of this important
volume. The first two parts provide the basic information that is
relevant to the field as a whole, the following two parts elaborate on
these principles, and the last part elaborates on specific technologies
or applications.
