Low embryogenesis rates have long been the point of contention for large scale ramet production ventures. This is further exacerbated by the fact that tissue culture of the oil palm to date is still a random process. This implies that laboratories will have to practice ‘basket sampling’ to meet the demand for clonal plantlets. Ong-Abdullah et al (2005) made a conservative estimate that tissue culture laboratories will operate at a loss of approximately RM 80 000 per year, a value that is expected to escalate, if and when abnormalities set in. Specific gene expression patterns have been successfully used in classifying and predicting the outcomes of certain conditions.

Main Research: Dr Meilina Ong Abdullah