Cloning plants & Tissue culture

• Cuttings can be used to quickly and cheaply clone a desirable plant.

  1.Find desirable plant you want to clone.

  2.Cut off small part (eg growing shoot or branch)

  3.Place cutting in some soil, along with some nutrients.

  4.Cutting will grow into clone.
• What is an explant?


  A small piece of plant that can develop into a clone.
• 2 benefits of cloning via cuttings rather than micropropagation.

  Quick

  Cheap
• Micropropation: suggest how tissue samples removed and transferred to agar medium?

  Cut plant with scissors

  Transfer with tweezers

  Sterilise equipment
• 2 nutrients that should be added to agar?

  Nitrates for DNA

  glucose for energy
• 3 precautions needed to ensure healthy growth of small plants (micropropation)

  Sterile conditions

  Temp

  Light
• Describe process of micropropation?

  Cut small piece of plant tissue (explants) from tip of stem, and sterilise to remove microorganism. Place explants into petri dish containing agar jelly with growth hormones and nutrients (eg glucose). Once they grow into calluses, transfer to soil to grow to plantlets. Transfer to own pots. Ensure process done with reasonable temp, plants get enough light and water.