What is Tissue Culture?
Plant tissue culture is a technique used to grow plant cells, tissues, or organs in a controlled, sterile environment.
In large-scale monoculture cultivation, maintaining plant health can be a constant challenge. Pathogens—such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi—pose a significant risk to crops, often leading to widespread disease outbreaks that can devastate entire crops. Traditional propagation methods may inadvertently spread these pathogens, perpetuating a cycle of unhealthy growth and poor plant vigor. A solution to preventing diseases at the source is to rely on plant tissue culture for mother plant regeneration and cloning.
The Plant Tissue Culture Process
Explant Selection
A small piece of plant tissue, called an explant, is taken from a parent plant. This could be a leaf, stem, or root.
Sterilization
The explant is sterilized using disinfectants to remove any microorganisms, ensuring a sterile growth environment.
Culture Medium Preparation
A nutrient-rich medium (often agar-based) is prepared. It contains essential nutrients, vitamins, plant hormones (like auxins and cytokinins), and sugars to promote growth.
Callus Formation
The explant is placed on the medium, which may form a mass of undifferentiated cells called a callus. This can then be manipulated to develop roots, shoots, or both.
Regeneration
With the right combination of growth hormones, the callus can be induced to form roots, shoots, or even whole plants.
Acclimatization
Once the plantlets have grown, they are carefully removed from the culture medium and gradually introduced to soil or other growing conditions to adapt to the natural environment.