Abstract
Plant micropropagation is currently an important method for modern large-scale propagation of valuable plant crops. Among the risks limiting the success of this method is the contamination of cultured plants. Conventional surface sterilization methods are not always effective against internal infection of plant tissues, and secondary contamination of tissue cultures during replication is also a major problem. This causes scientific laboratories to lose valuable experimental material and commercial enterprises to incur significant losses. The aim of this review is to analyze and demonstrate the causes and tools for controlling contaminating microflora during in vitro plant propagation in light of recent research. This review considers and analyzes the main contaminants of plant cultures and examines the effect of saprophytic and endophytic contaminants on plant tissue culture, showing that not only the plant species but also the plant variety may have different sensitivities to sterilizing agents and exposure duration. Many studies in this direction have been conducted worldwide, the results of which are often narrowly specific for particular plant cultures. This review analyzes the main approaches to address the contamination of different plant crops during clonal micropropagation. The review is aimed at reducing losses of plant crops through the use of different sterilization methods and the involvement of new-generation sterilizing agents in the process.