Tissue culture steps

Tissue culture, also known as micropropagation, is a scientific technique used in plant propagation and agriculture to produce large numbers of genetically identical plants from a small piece of plant tissue. This method involves growing plant cells, tissues, or organs under controlled laboratory conditions in nutrient-rich media. Tissue culture has revolutionized the way plants are propagated, allowing for rapid and consistent multiplication of plants with desirable traits. Here's an overview of how tissue culture works:

Steps in Tissue Culture

1. Selection of Parent Plant: A healthy and disease-free plant is selected as the source of the tissue to be cultured. This plant is often chosen for its desirable traits, such as high yield, disease resistance, or specific growth habits.

2. Initiation of Explants (Establishment): A small piece of plant tissue, known as an explant, is carefully excised from the selected plant. The explant can be a stem, leaf, root, or even a single cell, depending on the plant species and the goal of propagation. The explant is sterilized to eliminate any contaminants, such as fungi, bacteria, or viruses, that could interfere with the growth of the cultured tissue. The sterilized explant is placed in a culture medium, which is a nutrient-rich gel or liquid containing essential nutrients, vitamins, hormones, and growth regulators. The medium is carefully formulated to provide the necessary nutrients for the explant to grow and develop. Medium generally contains semisolid support (agar), basal medium (murashige and skoog), Energy source(sugar), Plant growth regulator (6-Benzylaminopurine). Cuttings must be stored in 4 degree celcius and washed for 30 mins before proceeding to next steps. PH of media should be around 5.7 to 5.8. If You need to adjust PH, you can use hydroponic up and down to adjust it.

3. Shoot Multiplication: Under controlled conditions, the explant begins to grow and multiply. Cells divide and differentiate, forming callus tissue, which is a mass of undifferentiated cells. This callus tissue can be divided into smaller pieces, each capable of developing into a new plant.

4. Regeneration(root formation): The callus tissue is transferred to a different medium that encourages the development of shoots and roots. This process is known as regeneration. The plantlets that form can be carefully separated and transferred to individual containers for further growth.

5. Acclimatization: Once the plantlets have developed roots and shoots, they are gradually acclimated to the external environment. This involves exposing them to changing conditions, such as humidity and light, to prepare them for transplantation to soil.

Benefits of Tissue Culture

1. Mass Propagation: Tissue culture allows for the rapid multiplication of plants, producing thousands of identical plants from a single explant.

2. Genetic Uniformity: The propagated plants are genetically identical to the parent plant, ensuring uniformity in traits such as yield, disease resistance, and growth habits.

3. Disease-Free Plants: Tissue culture offers a way to produce disease-free plants, as the initial explant can be carefully selected and sterilized.

4. Conservation of Rare and Endangered Species: Tissue culture can be used to propagate and conserve rare and endangered plant species.

5. Rapid Selection of Desirable Traits: Tissue culture accelerates the process of selecting and propagating plants with specific desirable traits, reducing the time required for traditional breeding methods.