The term somaclonal variation is a phenomenon of broad taxonomic occurrence, reported for species of different ploidy levels, and for outcrossing and inbreeding, vegetatively and seed propagated, and cultivated and non-cultivated plants.
Somaclonal variation is not restricted to, but is particularly common in, plants regenerated from callus.
The phenomenon of high variability in individuals from plant cell cultures or adventitious shoots has been named somaclonal variation.
Characteristics for which somaclonal mutants can be enriched during in vitro culture includes resistance to disease pathotoxins, herbicides, high salt concentration, mineral toxicity and tolerance to environmental or chemical stress, as well as for increased production of secondary metabolites.
A serious disadvantage of somaclonal variation occurs in operations which require clonal uniformity, as in the horticulture and forestry industries where tissue culture is employed for rapid propagation of elite genotypes.