Plant biotechnology

• Micropropagation

  The conversion of an explant into a whole transgenic plant.
• Describe micropropogation using organogenesis

  1. Explant is isolated under sterile conditions
  2. Callus is produced in a nutrient medium containing auxin and cytokinin
  3. Organogenesis stage 1: New shoots develop from the callus using cytokinin
  4. Organogenesis stage 2: New roots develop from the shoots using auxin
  5. Grow in soil or compost.
• Totipotency

  The ability of an individual cell to form all parts of the mature organism
• Protoplast

  A plant cell without a cell wall
• Somatic hybridization

  Production of novel hybrids between sexually incompatible plant species
• Briefly describe the steps in somatic hybridisation

  Protoplasts between two wild relatives are mixed and fused using chemical or a high voltage.

  This produces hybrid protoplasts which are cultured to form whole plants.
• How are protoplasts formed

  using cellulases
• how are protoplasts fused

  using chemicals or a high voltage
• Give an example of a plant hybrid

  Common wheat
• What is common wheat hybridized with and why

  It is hybridized with tall wheat grass to produce a salt and drought resistant wheat
• What is a transgenic plant

  A genetically engineered plants
• List the steps in generating GM plants

  1. DNA construct is produced
  2. Transformation of the plant cells with the construct
  3. Selection of transformed cells
  4. Regeneration of whole plants using organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis
• What are the two forms of naked DNA transformation for plants

  Particle bombardment is known as a microprojectile.

  Electroporation.
• Which plant transformation techniques are used for dicots and monocots

  Naked DNA
• Which plant transformation technique is used for just dicots

  Natural
• Gie two examples of dicots

  Tomatoes and potatoes
• What is plant biotechnology

  The use of laboratory-based techniques for plant propagation and genetic improvement.
• What is tissue culture an example of

  In vitro biotechnological techniques
• What is tissue culture

  The culture of plant organs, tissues, cells or protoplasts on nutrient media under sterile conditions.
• What techniques are used in plant tissue culture

  Micropropagation.

  Suspension cultures.

  Somatic hybridization.
• What is micropropogation used for

  Plant production
• Why are steile conditions used in culturing

  To prevent competition for nutrients
• What is an explant

  A tissue section
• What are the two methods used in micropropogation

  Organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis
• What is organogenssis

  The production of new organs
• What does auxin promote

  root growth from shoots
• what does cytokinin promote

  shoot growth from a callus
• what is a callus

  A mass of tissue made of disorganized and undifferentiated cells
• What is somatic embryogeneis

  The development of an embryo and whole plant from somatic cells
• Describe the steps in somatic embryogenesis

  Embryogenic callus. Somatic embryo. Plantlet.
• What is somaclonal variation

  Phenotypic variation between individual plants produced by plant tissue culture
• What causes somaclonal variation

  Genetic changes such as polyploidy, aneuploidy, chromosome structure and DNA sequence.

  These result in genome instability.
• What are the advantages of somocolal variation

  It allows for genetic variation which can result in an improvement of the plants features
• What is a cell suspension culture

  The growth of plant cells under sterile conditions in a liquid medium using a shaking incubator
• What is cell suspension culture used for

  Research to produce a homogenous mass of cells.

  Commercial production of secondary metabolites.
• What is a secondaary metabolite

  A metabolite which is not essential for the cells function
• What is a primarry metabolite

  A metabolite which is essential for the cells function
• Give two examples of secondary metabolites in plnats

  Defence against herbivores or pathogens.
• give two examples of primary metabolites

  ATP and glucose
• How are potato and wheat cultred

  Using somatic hybridization