Media for Tissue Culture

The most important component of plant tissue culture is the culture medium. A successful plant tissue culture system is heavily reliant on the formulation of the culture medium. Inorganic elements, organic compounds, and a support matrix are commonly found in plant tissue culture media. Culture media provides the inorganic nutrients that are normally available from soil to the cultures. Furthermore, they supply the cultures with essential organic compounds such as vitamins and carbon sources, which are normally produced in plants. Plant growth regulators are occasionally added to the medium to stimulate cell division and/or differentiation.

The plant tissue culture medium components

Their composition is the culture medium that is one of the most important factors to governing the growth and morphogenesis of plant tissues in culture. Cultured plant cells have nutrient requirements that are very similar to those of whole plants. The basic requirements of mineral elements required for plant tissue growth are met by including their common salts in the medium. Mineral salts are dissociated and ionised when they are dissolved in water. Rather than compounds, the active factor in the medium is a variety of ions. More than one salt in the medium may contribute one type of ion.

As a result, the total concentrations of different types of ions in two media can be used to make a meaningful comparison. Plant tissue culture media contain not only inorganic nutrients, but also a carbohydrate (usually sucrose) to replace the carbon that the plant normally fixes from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Many media contain trace amounts of certain organic compounds, most notably vitamins and plant growth regulators, to promote growth.

What is culture media and its types?

The most significant component of plant tissue culture is the culture media. A good plant tissue culture system is heavily reliant on the formulation of the culture media. Inorganic elements, organic chemicals, and a support matrix are commonly found in plant tissue culture mediums. Culture medium offers the inorganic nutrients that are normally accessible from soil to the cultures. Furthermore, they supply the cultures with essential organic components like vitamins and carbon sources, which are normally synthesised in plants. Plant growth regulators are occasionally added to the medium to encourage cell division and/or differentiation.

Types of Culture Media

1. MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium

In 1962, two scientists called Toshio Murashige and Folke K. Skoog devised this medium while researching the discovery of plant growth regulators. It is the most often used medium in tissue culture laboratories. This medium promotes organogenesis, callus culture, micropropagation, and cell suspension.

2. Medium Linsmaier and Skoog (LS)

Linsmaier and Skoog invented this media in 1965. It was initially used to enhance tobacco culture organic additives. The medium has the same components as Murashige and Skoog, but with the addition of Linsmaier and Skoog vitamins. It’s employed in organogenesis, callus culture, cell suspension, and micropropagation.

3. Medium Gamborg (B5)

O.L. Gamborg created this media in 1968. He utilised the media for the callus and cell suspension culture of Glycine max, a member of the Fabaceae family. This medium contains a combination of nutrients such as inorganic salts, vitamins, and carbs. It is employed in the cultivation of protoplasts.

4. Nitsch & Nitsch (NN)

P. Nitsch created the medium in 1969 to grow an in vitro anther culture of Nicotiana from the Solanaceae family. It has a high content of thiamine, biotin, and folic acid, which helps with another callus formation. It is used to create an in vitro anther culture.

5. Medium White

R. White created the medium in 1963 for the formation of tomato root culture. This was the first plant tissue culture medium that was created for root culture. It has a lower salt content and a greater MgSO4 concentration. The nitrate content is 19% lower than in MS medium. White’s media can be used for short culture as well as callus culture. It is ideal for the cultivation of Musa and Daucus species.

Advantages of Tissue Culture

The following are some of the benefits of tissue culture technique:

• Plantlets are produced in a very short period of time using only a small amount of plant tissue.
• The newly produced plants are disease-free.
• These plants can be grown all year round and regardless of the season.
• It is not necessary to have a large space to grow plants using the tissue culture technique.
• The market’s production of new varieties is increasing.
• This technique is used to grow ornamental plants like dahlias, chrysanthemums, and orchids.

Types of Tissue Culture

The following are the various tissue culture techniques:

Seed culture

Explants from an in-vitro derived plant are obtained and introduced into a laboratory where they proliferate. To avoid tissue damage, the explant should be sterilised.

Embryo culture

This involves the development of an embryo in vitro. An embryo is isolated from a living organism for this purpose. In the process, either a mature or an immature embryo can be used. Ripe seeds can produce mature embryos. Immature embryos are derived from seeds that did not germinate. Because the ovule, seed, or fruit has already been sterilised, it does not need to be sterilised again.

Callus culture

A callus is a clumpy, dividing mass of cells. The callus is formed when the explants are cultured in the appropriate medium. Callus formation is followed by organ differentiation. The culture is grown in a gel-like medium made of agar and specific nutrients required for cell growth.

Organ culture

Any plant organ, such as a shoot or a leaf, can be used as an explant in this case. Organ culture can be accomplished using a variety of techniques, including the plasma clot method, the raft method, the grid method, and the agar gel method. This method is used to preserve an organism’s structure and functions.

Protoplast culture

It is a cell that lacks a cell wall. The hanging-drop method or micro-culture chambers can be used to culture a protoplast. A variety of phases can be observed in protoplast culture, including cell wall development, cell division, and plant regeneration.

Importance of Tissue Culture

Tissue culture is extremely important in biology due to its numerous applications.

Plant and animal tissues can both be cultured. Animal tissue culture, for example, aids in the preservation of an organ or tissue.

Plant tissue culture can be used to either genetically modify a plant or simply increase its yield. Plant cells can be genetically modified to produce plants with desirable characteristics.

This method makes use of the plant’s ability to regenerate tissues quickly. It creates exact replicas of itself, known as clones.

It is a method of rapidly producing plants without the use of tubers, seeds, or bulbs.

It also contributes to the conservation of plant biodiversity by producing endangered plants.

Conclusion

The most important component of plant tissue culture is the culture medium. A successful plant tissue culture system is heavily reliant on the formulation of the culture medium. A good plant tissue culture system is heavily reliant on the formulation of the culture media. It is the most often used medium in tissue culture laboratories. Plantlets are produced in a very short period of time using only a small amount of plant tissue. The culture is grown in a gel-like medium made of agar and specific nutrients required for cell growth. Tissue culture is the process of growing tissues or cells in a medium separate from the parent organism. Culture media play a significant role in the in vitro growth and morphogenesis of plant tissues. The success of plant tissue culture is determined by the nutrient medium used.