APPLICATIONS OF PLANT TISSUE CULTURE

PLANT CELL CULTURE AND ITS IMPORTANCE

The following points highlight the top twelve applications of plant cell and tissue culture. The applications are: �

• 1. Clonal Propagation and Micro-Propagation
• 2. Biomass Energy
• 3. Secondary Metabolites
• 4. Genetic Variability
• 5. Somatic Embryogenesis and Synthetic Seed
• 6. Breaking Dormancy
• 7. Haploid Plants
• 8. Somatic Hybrids
• 9. Transgenic Plants
• 10. Germplasm Conservation.
• 11. Induction and selection of mutations.
• 12. Resistant to weedicides

DEFINE:

• Tissue culture: a method for growing individual cells in a container of sterile nutrient medium to which hormones and growth substances may have been added.

​

CONTI….

• The tissue sample is removed from a plant or animal and grown in glassware (in vitro) or in a bioreactor.
• Growth is by mitosis and produces a cluster of identical offspring - a clone.
• This technique useful in genetic engineering for the production of transgenic organisms.

​

Transgenic plants & products �

• • Potatoes
• • Tomatoes
• • Onions
• • Carrots
• • Apples
• • Turnips
• • Leeks
• • Cauliflowers
• • Radishes
• • Bread

Conditions necessary for Tissue growth

• Oxygen
• Nutrients
• Growth factors and hormones
• Correct pH
• Optimum temperature
• Sterile conditions
• Freedom from competition

​

APPLICATIONS

1.Clonal Propagation and Micro-Propagation:�

• DEFINATION
• Clonal propagation refers to the process of asexual reproduction by multiplication of genetically identical copies of individual plants. The term clone is used to represent a plant population derived from a single individual by asexual reproduction.
• Micro-propagation is achieved

through multiplication of shoot tip

or axillary buds cultured in vitro.

​

CONTI…

• This technique is very much used in horticulture and silviculture—in the plants which have long seed dormancy, tree species, orchids and many fruit plants.
• This micro-propagation technique is also helpful for supplying the plant material throughout the year involving large scale multiplication i.e., grower and breeder gets a large number plant stocks irrespective of seasonal variation.

2.Biomass Energy:�

• In recent years, the interest has aroused in commercializing the in vitro propagation of forest trees.
• Micro-propagation has been successfully done in many trees of economic importance like Acacia nilotica, Albizia lebbeck, and Azadirachta indica etc.
• All these plant species are useful in forestry for biomass energy production. 

RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY

3.Secondary Metabolites:�

• Production of many useful compounds like alkaloids, Steroids (Diosgenin), Glycosidic compounds (Digoxin) and many other essential oils (Jasmine), flavouring and colouring agents (saffron) can be done by plant cell culture.
• In general, secondary metabolites produced by plant cell cultures are rather small in amount but by clonal selection the particular high yielding clone of cells can be isolated. 

4.Genetic Variability/SOMACLONAL VARIATION:�

• The variability generated by the use of a tissue culture cycle has been termed as somaclonal variation by Larkin and Scowcroft.
• This genetic variability is due to cells of various ploidy levels and genetic constitution of the initial explant or also may be deve­loped due to different cultural conditions.
• Such kind of variations may show some useful characters such as resistance to a particular disease, herbicide resistance, stress tolerance, etc.

CONTI…

Somatic Embryogenesis and Synthetic Seed:�

• Somatic embryogenesis is an artificial process in which a plant or embryo is derived from a single somatic cell or group of somatic cells. Somatic embryos are formed from plant cells that are not normally involved in the development of embryos.
• These somatic embryos can be encapsulated with suitable nutrient containing alginate medium which are called artificial seeds or synthetic seeds.
• Applications of this process include: clonal propagation of genetically uniform plant material; elimination of viruses; provision of source tissue for genetic transformation; AND development of synthetic seed technology.
• This artificial seed production is also desirable in case of asexually propa­gating plants.

6.Breaking Dormancy:�

• Using embryo (zygotic) culture technique the seed dormancy period can be reduced or eliminated and the breeding cycle can be shortened in many of the plants.
• The life cycle of Iris was reduced from 2-3 years to less than one year. It was possible to obtain two generations of flowering in Rosa sp.
• Embryo abortion in unsuccessful crosses may be recovered by culture of immature embryo of different hybrids.

​

7.Haploid Plants:�

• Haploid plants can be obtained through anther or pollen culture (androgenesis) or through ovaries or ovule culture (gynogenesis). 
• These androgenic haploids can also be used for production of different kinds of aneuploids like monosomic, nullisomic, trisomic, etc. and also for the induction of mutagenesis and doubling of those mutated lines.
• Generation of exclusively Y chromosome containing plant is possible also through haploid production as in case of Asparagus.

8.Somatic Hybrids:�

• DEF…
• Somatic fusion, also called protoplast fusion, is a type of genetic modification in plants by which two distinct species of plants are fused together to form a new hybrid plant with the characteristics of both, a somatic hybrid.
• Success has been achieved obtaining somatic hybrid plants between sexually compatible and incompatible plants.
• This technique has been mainly used for introgressing many useful criteria from the wild genotype to cultivated crop variety.

​

​

9.Transgenic Plants:�

• The genetically modified (GM) plants, in which a functional foreign gene has been incorporated by biotechnological method, are called transgenic plants.
• A number of trans­genic plants have been produced carrying genes for different traits like insect resistance, herbicide tolerance, delayed ripening, increased amino acid and vitamin content, improved oil quality, etc.
• The different methods of introduction of foreign genes, direct (electroporation, microinjection or particle bombardment) or indirect (Agrobocterium mediated) etc.

10.Germplasm Conservation:�

• Mainly the plant species which are endangered, rare and threatened with extinction are needed to be conserved by ex-situ method of germplasm conservation.
• Plant tissue culture may be applied for this purpose. In vitro germplasm storage collection provides a cost effective alternative to growing plants under field conditions, nurseries or greenhouses etc.

11.Resistance to Weedicides:�

• It is similar to induction of mutations. Weedicides are added to culture initially in very small concentrations.
• Dosage is increased in subsequent cultures till die desired level of resistance is obtained. The resistant cells are then regenerated to form plantlets and plants.

APPLICATIONS…..

• Virus reproduction
• Micro propagation of plants
• Produces exact copies
• • Quickly produces mature plants
• • Doesn’t need pollinators or seeds
• • Producing plants that are disease resistant and virus free.
• Growing human tissue for organ transplants
• • Skin cells
• • Liver cell

Pancreas cells Producing biotechnology products

• • Insulin • Interferon • Pregnancy testing kits • Drug testing kits • Cancer testing kits

THE END