A recent study has highlighted the effectiveness of Bacterial cellulose to significantly improve healing and regeneration in plants

About the Study

• Published In: The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
• Conducted by: The research is a work of botanist Núria Sánchez Coll of the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics in Barcelona
• Subject: Bacterial cellulose patches were being tested to prevent infections in wounded plants when their healing properties were discovered.
• Method: Small cuts were made on the leaves of two lab plants and the Bacterial cellulose patches applied to only half the wounds. 
• Findings: 
• • More than 80% of the treated wounds had healed after a week, compared to less than 20% of the untreated ones.
  • The patches were also found to enhance vegetative propagation, a process used to grow a genetically identical new plant using cuttings.
• Significance: The latest findings suggest potential applications in agriculture, such as facilitating grafting, preserving cut plant material, or serving as a growth medium in laboratories

About The Bacterial Cellulose

• Bacterial cellulose or microbial cellulose (MC) is a biodegradable, natural polymer produced by certain bacterias.
• Formula:  (C6H10O5)n
• Bacterial Species: Cellulose can also be synthesized by various species of bacteria like, 
  • The genera Acetobacter, Gluconobacter, Komagataeibacter, Rhizobium, Agrobacterium, and Sarcina
• Production Process: Bacterial Cellulose can be achieved by two methods,
  • Agitated Fermentation: Irregular pellets are developed and remain totally suspended in the culture media in an agitated fermentation system.
  • Static Fermentation: The formation of gelatinous pellicles takes place in static culture at the air–liquid interface of the culture media.
• Features:
  • Fibre Network Structure: It possesses a three-dimensional, gelatinous structure consisting of cellulose with mechanical and thermal properties
  • Hydrophilic Nature : Bacterial cellulose has high water retention due to being very hydrophilic
  • Mechanical Strength: It also has great mechanical strength, exhibits high crystallinity, and is relatively inexpensive to produce
  • Non Toxic: BC is generally nontoxic, and low cytotoxicity is observed
  • Green: Bacterial Cellulose is a natural polymer which is biodegradable in nature 
  • Thermal properties: The thermal degradation properties of BC can be affected by treatment with alkalis like KOH, NaOH, Na2CO3, and K2CO3. 
• Application: BC is widely used in various industries including food, paper, textile, electronic and electrical applications, and green industry.
  • Food industry: BC being a dietary fibre can be used as an adjuvant in foods and the food industry and has scope in food industries owing to its high purity; variety of textures and shapes, capability to acquire in situ changes, such as colors and flavors of culture medium.
    • The  addition of BC to food provides firmness, retention properties, and better texture.
  • Food Additive: BC has a higher water uptake and cation exchange capacity, lipid blood, and cholesterol-lowering effect than plant-based cellulose and can be utilized in food additives such as fat-free, low-cholesterol, and low-calorie foods
  • Sustainable Packaging: BC may be a suitable alternative as food packaging material in order to store foods and extend their expiration dates, due to a porous, thin reticulated structure, resulting in it filtering dust, microorganisms, and fungus presented in the air.
  • Medical Fields: It can be used as artificial skin, cartilage tissue engineering, bone tissue engineering, and wound dressing, but also in drug delivery
    • Band Aid: This natural hydrogel is found to have promising applications in wound healing, as dry wounds need added moisture to ensure tissue regeneration.
  • Medical Implants: BC can also be used in biomedical devices such as dental implants, artificial blood vessels, and vascular grafts, as well as in urethral, nerve, artificial cornea, and retina implants as it has key characteristics such as non-toxicity
  • Paper Industry: BC is used as a binder for manufacturing special papers requiring high strength for archival document repair and long-life currency. Adding BC significantly increases the strength and durability of the pulp when used as paper. 

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