Plant cloning

• Cloning

  The process of producing genetically identical cells or organisms from the cells of an existing organism
• Plant cloning


  • Plants can produce clones naturally, but they can also be cloned artificially
• Vegetative propagation


  1. The production of plant clones from non-reproductive tissues, e.g. roots and stems

  2. A type of asexual reproduction
• Natural vegetative propagation methods used by plants

  • Rhizomes
  • Stolons
  • Suckers
  • Tubers
  • Bulbs
• Rhizomes


  Stem structures that grow horizontally underground away from the parent plant, with nodes from which new shoots and roots can develop
• Stolons


  Also called runners, they grow above the ground on the surface of the soil, with new shoots and roots developing from nodes or at the end of the stolon
• Suckers


  Shoots that grow from sucker buds (undeveloped shoots) present on the shallow roots of a parent plant
• Tubers


  Large underground plant structures that act as a food store for the plant, with 'eyes' that can sprout and form new plants
• Bulbs


  Underground food stores used by some plants, with new bulbs able to develop from the original bulb and form new individual plants
• Vegetative propagation in horticulture and agriculture


  • Horticulturists and farmers can exploit a plant's natural ability to produce clones by manipulating the way the plant grows
• Producing clones from cuttings


  1. Take a cutting from the stem of a parent plant

  2. Remove leaves from the lower end

  3. Dip in rooting powder

  4. Plant in suitable growth medium

  5. Provide warm, moist environment
• Other types of cuttings

  • Root cuttings
  • Leaf cuttings (split vein cutting)
• Tissue culture

  An artificial way of cloning plants, involving taking cells from the original plant, sterilising them, and growing them on a culture medium with plant hormones to produce a mass of undifferentiated cells that can be subdivided to produce many cloned plants
• Tissue culture process

  • Cells taken from stem and root tips
  • Cells sterilised to kill microorganisms
  • Cells placed on culture medium with nutrients and plant hormones
  • Cells divide to produce mass of undifferentiated cells
  • Mass subdivided to produce many cloned plants
• Uses of tissue culture

  • Cloning endangered or rare plants
  • Growing whole plants from genetically engineered plant cells
• Micropropagation


  Using tissue culture to produce large numbers of cloned plants very quickly by taking cells from developing cloned plants and subcultured (grown on fresh medium)
• Arguments for artificial plant cloning

  • Desirable genetic characteristics always passed on
  • Plants can be reproduced in any season
  • Less space required than conventional growing
  • Lots of plants produced quickly
• Arguments against artificial plant cloning

  • Undesirable genetic characteristics always passed on
  • Cloned populations have no genetic variability
  • High production costs
  • Risk of contamination