PLANT TISSUE CULTURE

Uses of plant tissue culture

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS IT?

USES

CASE STUDY 1
Anther culture for cold hardiness

CASE STUDY 2
Somaclones for disease resistance

CASE STUDY 3
Demonstration of tissue culture for teaching

PUBLICATIONS



Callus cultures derived from onion  

Plant tissue culture now has direct commercial applications as well as value in basic research into cell biology, genetics and biochemistry. The techniques include culture of cells, anthers, ovules and embryos on experimental to industrial scales, protoplast isolation and fusion, cell selection and meristem and bud culture. Applications include:

  • micropropagation using meristem and shoot culture to produce large numbers of identical individuals
  • screening programmes of cells, rather than plants for advantageous characters
  • large-scale growth of plant cells in liquid culture as a source of secondary products
  • crossing distantly related species by protoplast fusion and regeneration of the novel hybrid
  • production of dihaploid plants from haploid cultures to achieve homozygous lines more rapidly in breeding programmes
  • as a tissue for transformation, followed by either short-term testing of genetic constructs or regeneration of transgenic plants
  • removal of viruses by propagation from meristematic tissues