Micropropagation

Micropropagation or tissue culture is the practice of rapidly multiplying plant stock material to produce many progeny plants, using modern plant tissue culture methods. Micropropagation is used to multiply a wide variety of plants, such as those that have been genetically modified or bred through conventional plant breeding methods. It is also used to provide a sufficient number of plantlets for planting from seedless plants, plants that do not respond well to vegetative reproduction or where micropropagation is the cheaper means of propagating (e.g. Orchids). Cornell University botanist Frederick Campion Steward discovered and pioneered micropropagation and plant tissue culture in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In short, steps of micropropagation can be divided into four stages: Selection of mother plant Multiplication Rooting and acclimatizing Transfer new plant to soil Micropropagation begins with the selection of plant material to be propagated. The plant tissues are removed from an intact plant in a sterile condition. Clean stock materials that are free of viruses and fungi are important in the production of the healthiest plants. Once the plant material is chosen for culture, the collection of explant(s) begins and is dependent on the type of tissue to be used; including stem tips, anthers, petals, pollen and other plant tissues. The explant material is then surface sterilized, usually in multiple courses of bleach and alcohol washes, and finally rinsed in sterilized water. This small portion of plant tissue, sometimes only a single cell, is placed on a growth medium, typically containing Macro and micro nutrients, water, sucrose as an energy source and one or more plant growth regulators (plant hormones). Usually the medium is thickened with a gelling agent, such as agar, to create a gel which supports the explant during growth. Some plants are easily grown on simple media, but others require more complicated media for successful growth; the plant tissue grows and differentiates into new tissues depending on the medium.