Plant cells in culture are required to be provided with a continuous supply of 12 inorganic elements. Elements—Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Sulphur, Calcium, Potassium, and Magnesium—required in quantities greater than 0.5 mM/L are macro elements. Micro elements—Iron, Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Boron and Molybdenum—are needed in concentrations less than 0.5 mmol/L. Nitrogen provided in the form of (NH4)+ or…

Plant-tissue culture basically involves growth of an excised plant organ or tissue called explant on a suitable nutrient medium under aseptic culturing conditions. Clean work areas with sufficient space for housing basic equipment like growth chambers, inoculation cabinets, shakers, centrifuges, autoclaves, ovens, microscopes, weighing equipment and so on in designated washing, media preparation, aseptic transfer…

The various techniques of plant-tissue culture have made possible medicinal plant improvement through genetic engineering, selection of higher yielding strains, generation of novel metabolites in culture, isolation of biosynthetic enzymes, and production of secondary metabolites of plant cells in much higher yields than in intact plants. Plant-tissue culture could thus be a significant source of…

Plants raised from cells genetically engineered to carry genes not native to the species are transgenic plants. There has been exciting progress in developing improved novel traits in many crop plants. The first transgenic tobacco plant was developed in 1983 followed by cotton, soybean, mustard, maize, and so on. There is a large-scale cultivation of…

Fusion of two protoplasts—plant cells whose rigid cell wall has been removed—facilitates fusion of their DNA, cell organelles, bacteria, and virus. This process of somatic hybridization following isolation, culture, and fusion of protoplasts is a very significant milestone in plant-tissue culture. The unique properties of protoplasts, their ability to regenerate a cell wall and resume…

Conventional methods of germplasm storage follows seed storage at 10–20°C at reduced moisture in sealed containers. Germplasm deteriorates under such conditions in plants such as rubber, neem, cocoa, jackfruit, mango, and litchi. For these and for seedless plants like tapioca, sugarcane, and sweet banana, germplasm storage may be in the form of cryopreservation of in vitro cultures of…

Anther or pollen culture in vitro gives rise to plants with haploid number of chromosomes. While naturally occurring haploids are rare as reported in Datura, Nicotiana, Coptis, and Arrhinium species, tissue culture–raised haploids are of great economic importance in plant-breeding programs and in mutation studies. By themselves sterile, they may be made to form homozygous diploids by colchicine treatment. Ever…

In vitro culture of shoot meristem measuring less than 0.1 mm in length is called meristem culture. It is employed in the in vitro clonal propagation of plants from shoot tips, leaf sections, and calli. By this technique it is possible to generate virus-free plants in culture from meristem of infected plants. This is especially applicable to those…

Formation of simply organized embryo-like structures originating in culture from somatic cells either spontaneously or through growth regulators is called somatic embryogenesis. This is a versatile technique used for micropropagation and when somatic embryos are coated appropriately they form artificial seeds. These may be sown in the field directly and this technique increases germination of…

Aseptic isolation of embryos at different developmental stages from ovules, immature seeds, polyembryonic seeds either inviable or abortive is called embryo culture. In vitro embryo culture is used to regenerate healthy plants from non-viable embryos, to overcome seed dormancy, to obtain rare and novel hybrids, propagate rare plants, and raise haploid plants. It is used for recovering hybrids…