The cultivation of rare and endangered plants will allow you to preserve and increase the population of species, without the threat of their infection with soil infections.

Scientists of the Southern Federal University together with specialists from DSTU are developing a technology for obtaining scaffolds (constructs printed on a 3D-bioprinter) with Chlorella algae cells included in the construct of a sterile culture. Soil bacteria and fungi can significantly reduce the percentage of germination of plants, so when obtaining constructs in a sterile environment, a pure culture obtained in vitro will be used.

For reference:

Chlorella is a bio-organic supplement, an organic fertilizer that provides a high percentage of germination of seeds of problem plants. Scaffolds – in turn, this is a sterile skeleton (frame) in which seeds will germinate.

"The main advantage of this technology is that it provides a biodegradable hydrogel environment for fast and safe plant growth, as well as increases the percentage of seed germination. This kind of environment does not contain harmful phytopathogens that pose a threat to the growth and life of the plant, thereby providing them with favorable living conditions, "said Sergey Chapek, an expert at the research laboratory of DSTU "Engineering Technologies in Medicine".

According to Sergey Chapek, the cooperation between the two leading universities will enable the use of bioprinting technology on the territory of the SFedU Botanical Garden for the conservation and reproduction of rare plant species in a fast and environmentally friendly way.

Now the project is under development, in the future, experiments will be conducted on the selection of bio-ink, and the design of the optimal size and shape of the constructs.