Tissue Culture: Types, Procedure, Advantages

Introduction

“Tissue culture is a technique for growing cells and tissues in an artificial medium that is distinct from the organism in which they are being grown.” It is a technique in which pieces of plants are cultured and grown in a laboratory environment, which is known as tissue culture. Organs are frequently utilised for tissue culture as well as for transplantation. Broth and agar are the medium that are utilised to support the growth of the culture.

Micropropagation is another term used to describe this process. It has been shown to be advantageous in the production of disease-free plants as well as the increase in plant yield in underdeveloped countries. It just takes a sterile workplace, a greenhouse, trained labour, and a nursery to be successful.

Tissue culture has been used to produce oil palm, bananas, eggplant, pineapple, rubber tree, tomatoes and sweet potatoes in impoverished nations, among other crops.

Tissue Cultures Come in a Variety of Forms

The following are the several types of tissue culturing procedures available:

Culture of Seeds

Explants from an in-vitro produced plant are used in this culture, and they are put into a laboratory environment where they multiply and grow. It is necessary to sterilise the explant in order to avoid tissue damage from occurring.

Embryo Culture is a type of culture that involves the cultivation of embryos.

This procedure involves the growth of an embryo in vitro. This is accomplished through the isolation of an embryo from a living organism. It is possible to employ either a mature or an immature embryo in this procedure. Ripe seeds contain mature embryos that can be harvested. We acquire the immature embryos by harvesting seeds that did not germinate well. Because the ovule, seed, or fruit has already been sterilised, it does not need to be sterilised again before use.

Culture of the Callus

A callus is a clump of cells that is disorganised and constantly dividing. The callus is formed after the explants have been grown in the correct medium for several weeks. The formation of callus is followed by the differentiation of organs. Growing the cells in a gel-like media made of agar and certain nutrients essential for cell growth is the method used to cultivate the culture.

Culture of Organs

Any organ of the plant, such as a sprout or a leaf, can be employed as an explant in this procedure. For organ culture, a variety of techniques are available, including the plasma clot method, the raft method, the grid method and the agar gel method. When an organism’s structure and functions are preserved, this method is employed to accomplish this.

Protoplast Culture is a term used to describe the culture of protoplasts.

It is a cell that does not have a cell wall. Hanging drop culture or micro-culture chambers are two methods for growing protoplasts in a laboratory setting. A number of steps can be observed in protoplast cultivation, including the creation of the cell wall, cell division and the regeneration of the entire plant.

Various Other Types

Pollen Culture is a type of culture that grows pollen.

Anther Cultural 

Single Cell Culture 

Suspension Culture

Somatic Embryogenesis 

Tissue Culture Procedures: Steps to Follow

The following are the steps involved in tissue culture:

Phase One: Getting Started

The tissue is now being introduced into the culture at this point. The tissue of interest is acquired, inserted, and sterilised in order to prevent any contamination of the process during the procedure.

The Multiplication Phase is the next step.

During this stage, the sterile explant is placed into a medium that contains growth regulators and the appropriate nutrients for its growth. They are in charge of the growth of cells in the body. A callus is a mass of cells that has not differentiated from one another.

Formation of Roots

The formation of roots begins. The addition of plant growth hormones helps to kickstart the production of roots. The result is a set of plantlets that are completely functional.

Shoot Formation 

A week after the addition of the plant growth hormones for the creation of the shoot, the growth of the plant is noticed.

Acclimatisation

The plant is moved inside a greenhouse as soon as it begins to develop so that it can continue to develop under regulated environmental conditions. When it is finished, it is sent to nurseries where it can develop in a natural habitat.

Tissue culture- Advantages

The following are some of the numerous advantages of using the tissue culture technique:

• Plantlets can be produced in a very short period of time using only a small amount of plant tissue

• The new plants that have been produced are devoid of disease

• Regardless of the season, the plants can be grown all year long and in any location

• The tissue culture approach does not necessitate the use of a considerable amount of space for plant growth

• The introduction of new types into the marketplace is becoming more frequent

• Dahlia, chrysanthemum, orchids, and other decorative plants are being produced using this technology in order to increase their yield

Tissue Culture Has a Critical Role

• As a result of the vast range of applications for which tissue culture is used in biology, it is extremely significant

• Plant and animal tissues can both be employed in the process of culturing. Animal tissue culture, for example, can aid in the preservation of an organ or tissue

• Plant tissue culture can be utilised for a variety of purposes, including genetic alteration of a plant or just increasing its productivity. In order to generate plants with desirable features, it may be necessary to genetically modify the cells of the plants

• This technique takes advantage of the plant’s ability to regenerate tissues in a short period of time. Clones are identical replicas of the original, and they are produced by the virus

• Growing plants quickly without the use of tubers, seeds, or bulbs is referred to as hydroponics

• It also contributes to the preservation of plant biodiversity through the cultivation of endangered species

Conclusion 

Tissue culture is a very important practice in the modern world. It provides an opportunity of developing better plant varieties with high yields. Certain special traits are added or subtracted as per the requirement. The process is very delicate and requires specialists to perform. Sterilisation of every piece of equipment is necessary before starting the process.