Q) What is Tissue Culture and Discuss its applications?
Ans:-
Cells or some parts of the plants have totipotency that means ability to regrow into full fledged plantele under certain circumstance. Inoculation of cells into the nutrient medium and developing the callus in minimum medium into plantele through growth promoters in maximum medium is called tissue Culture.
Applications:-
Micropropagation:-
In certain situations, there is need of the mass production of planteles for social forestry or decoration purposes or for nursery or any commercial purposes. In such circumstances, Tissue culture enables us to produce the same species on mass scale in small amount of time.
Seed Culture:-
Certain seeds are weak. Due to that circumstance, Nutrient medium of tissue culture is used to give protection to seed and for the development of plantele.
Production of Synthetic Seeds:-
The callus in minimal medium acts as the embryoid, which when coated with sodium alginate, then such callus embryoid is preserved. Such coated embryoids are called as the Synthetic seeds, which are resistant to heat, water and other agents. Such can be made into plantele, when sodium alginate coating is removed and introduced in complete medium, which has growth promoters.
Preservation of Bio-Diversity:-
At present day mass extinction, there is dire need of preservation of genetic material. Through tissue culture, cell mass of the trees or plants are developed into callus in minimal medium and that callus is coated with sodium alginate and preserved in liquid nitrogen, then it would be forever preserved.
Somatic Hybridisation:-
Through Tissue culture, Somatic hybrids can be produced by fusing the protoplasts of two different plants. Under the influence of the Poly Ethylene Glycol(PEG), protoplasts of two plant species can be combined. For example, Rabbage (Raddish X Cabbage), Pomato (Tomato X Potato) e.t.c.,
Embryonic Rescue:-
Certain embryos are weak, which can be successfully raised to planteles through tissue culture. For example, Embryos Somatic Hybrids like Pomato and Rabbage are very weak.
Somaclonal Variations:-
In the propagation, certain genetic variations occurs. Sometimes these variations are valuable. For example, High protein content in Tomato, Resistance to high temperature in wheat, Resistance fungus or virus, e.t.c.,
These are some of the important applications of Tissue Culture, which has potential to transform the face agriculture and socio-economic conditions of the country.