Preserving Vanilla

Vanilla is in such high demand that it is beginning to struggle to survive. It is the world's second most expensive spice. It has become so popular next to chocolate, that its hard to maintain the plants since they live temperamental lives. Vanilla is struggling in today's population so scientists are trying to clone the plant making it easier to produce. Scientists at the school of Biosciences at the University of Malaysia campus are working on cloning the vanilla orchid species through tissue culture. Cloning these rare species come with a lot of issues including cutting the stem of the plant which can cause mutations in the plant unnecessary for cloning so the procedure is expensive and time consuming. Scientists use DNA marker systems to find out why these mutations occur. The DNA fragments will show why these mutations occur so that way they can clone vanillin orchids successfully. Through these studies as to why mutations occur, scientists will be able to regenerate vanilla without making them genetically instable. Hopefully they will prevent the mutations and will be able to regenerate vanilla since it is one of the most popular spices.