Micropropagation (tissue culture)Spec 5.17B, 5.18B
Micropropagation (tissue culture) is growing new plants from small pieces of a plant, called explants, in vitro. In vitro means in glass or a container, not in the soil.
- Take small pieces of tissue (explants) from the parent plant, for example from the shoot tip.
- Sterilise the explants and use aseptic technique so that bacteria and fungi do not contaminate the culture.
- Place the explants on a sterile nutrient agar containing nutrients and plant growth hormones.
- The cells divide and grow into small plantlets. These can be transferred to fresh medium and then planted out.
Uses and advantages
- Commercial quantities of genetically identical plants can be produced quickly from a small amount of tissue.
- Plants with desirable characteristics, such as high yield, are copied exactly.
- Plants can be produced all year round, in a small space.
- Rare plants can be reproduced to help save them.
Exam tip:
The key word is 'identical'. The new plants are clones of the parent, so the useful characteristics are kept.
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