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Tissue culture is a method of biological research in which animal or plant tissue fragments are moved to an artificial environment where they can survive and function. A single cell, a population of cells, or a whole or part of an organ can all be cultured. Cells in culture can grow, change size, shape, or function, perform specialised tasks (muscle cells, for example, can contract), and interact with other cells.
Historical occurrences
Wilhelm Roux, a German naturalist, made the first effort at tissue culture in 1885, when he cultured tissue from a chick embryo in a warm salt solution. However, it wasn’t until 1907 that an American naturalist named Ross G. Harrison demonstrated frog growth.
Culture environments
Cells can be cultured in a biologically defined culture medium like blood serum or tissue extract, a chemically defined synthetic medium, or a combination of the two. A medium must have the proper amounts of nutrients for the cells being researched, as well as be acidic or alkaline. Single layers of cells on a glass or plastic surface, or as a suspension in a liquid or semisolid medium, are the most common ways to produce cultures.
A small sample of tissue is scattered on or in the medium to start a culture, and the flask, tube, or plate containing the culture is then incubated, usually at a temperature close to the tissue’s normal environment. To avoid contamination by microorganisms, sterile conditions are maintained. Single cells are occasionally used to initiate cultures, culminating in the formation of homogenous biological populations known as clones. Within 10 to 14 days of being placed in culture conditions, single cells usually produce colonies.
Primary cultures and established cell lines
Because of its numerous applications in the fields of cell biology and biotechnology, as well as in medical research, the cell culture technique has become a routine and widely used technique. Primarily, cell culture technology relies on the isolation of primary cells rather than cancer cells because primary cells are a reliable source of information about the normal physiological, morphological, and molecular processes occurring in human cells. Because fibroblasts are the most abundant cells in the connective tissue of the oral mucosa, they are implicated in the development of numerous disease entities and histogenesis. It is possible for oral biologists and researchers to study the morphological and molecular processes in oral diseases by cultivating oral fibroblast cells in the laboratory.
Processing of cultured cells and tissues
Live cultures can be examined directly under the microscope or through images and motion pictures captured under the microscope. Cells, tissues, and organs can also be destroyed, stored, and dyed for subsequent study. Following fixation, materials can be embedded (e.g., in resin) and cut into thin sections under a light or electron microscope to reveal more details.
Tissue culture cells are treated to a variety of experimental treatments. Viruses, medicines, hormones, vitamins, disease-causing bacteria, and suspected cancer-causing chemicals, for example, could be introduced to the culture. Scientists then examine the cells for broad changes in cell behaviour or function, as well as changes in individual components, such as changes in protein or gene expression.
Biological insights
Several recent reviews have demonstrated that crop domestication is an extremely interesting field of study. Together with the increasing availability of genomic and phenomic resources in a growing number of crop species, evolutionary biology insights should help us gain an even better understanding of the genetic architecture and short-term evolution of complex traits, which can be used to inform selection strategies. The integration of population genetics with plant breeding methodology, as well as the development of community resources to support research in a variety of crop life histories and reproductive strategies, will be critical in the advancement of crop improvement techniques in the future. Specifically, we will discuss recent breakthroughs in the understanding of the role of selective sweeps and demographic history in shaping genetic architecture, how these breakthroughs can be used to inform selection strategies, and the application of precision gene editing to leverage these connections.
Plants that live at the bottom of the biological food chain play a critical role in providing solutions to some of the most daunting ecological and environmental problems that our planet is currently facing. They are also known as root cause organisms. Reductionism in molecular biology provides only a partial understanding of the phenotypic knowledge of plants, according to reductionist viewpoints. Systems biology provides a comprehensive view of plant systems by employing a holistic approach that integrates molecular data at various hierarchical levels. Systems biology is becoming increasingly popular in academia. In this review, we discuss the fundamentals of systems biology, including the various ‘omics’ approaches and their integration, modelling aspects, and the tools required for plant systems research, among other topics. Specifically, recent analytical advancements, updated published examples of plant systems biology studies, and future trends are highlighted, with an emphasis on the latter.
Conclusion
Given the various types of tissues that require precise circumstances for the culture process to deliver desired outcomes, there are multiple methods for tissue culture. Plant and animal tissue can be utilised for tissue culture for a variety of applications.
