Tissue Culturing

• Aseptic conditions: Carried out in sterile conditions to prevent contamination by bacteria or fungi.
• Nutrient medium: The tissue is placed in a special medium containing nutrients, growth hormones, and sometimes antibiotics.
• Totipotency: Plant cells are totipotent, meaning each cell has the potential to grow into a complete new plant.

• Uses in plants:
  • Rapidly produces large numbers of genetically identical plants (clones).
  • Conserves rare or endangered plant species.
  • Produces disease-free plants.

• Uses in medicine:
  • Growing human or animal cells for research.
  • Producing monoclonal antibodies for diagnosis and treatment.
  • Testing the effects of drugs on tissues before clinical trials.
• Advantages: Quick, produces many copies, disease-free, and can be done year-round.
• Disadvantages: Expensive, requires expertise, and risk of reduced genetic variation in cloned populations.

Tissue culturing is used in:

• In vitro fertilisation (IVF)
• Skin grafts
• Vaccine production In plants, it is used for micro-propagation.