Cloning plants and tissue culture

• Describe the process of cutting to clone a desirable plant

  1) find a desirable plant that you want to clone

  
  

  2) cut off a snall part ( ideally a growing shoot or branch )

  
  

  3) place the cutting in some soil , along with some nutrients and maybe some hormones

  
  

  4) the cutting will grown into a clone of the original plant
• Describe the process of using micro propagation ( using tissue cultures ) to clone a plant

  1) find a plant with desirable characteristics that u want to clone

  
  

  2) take very small pieces of plant tissue called ( Explants ) from the tips of stems

  
  

  3) sterilise the Explants to remove any microorganisms

  
  

  4) place the Explants in a nutrient medium ( agar ) and let the grow into small masses of cells called calluses. The nutrient medium should also contain growth hormones

  
  

  5) transfer the calluses to soil where they can grow into plantlets ( baby plants )

  
  

  6) the plantlets can then be transferred to their own pots to develop into genetically identical adult plants
• What is an Explant ?

  A small piece of plant that can develop into a clone
• Give three benefits of cloning via cuttings rather than micro propagation

  1) cutting is quicker

  2) cuttings is cheaper

  3) cuttings requires less technical equipment
• Suggest how the tissue samples are removed and transferred to the agar medium. In micropropagation

  1) cut the plant with scalpel / scissors

  2) transfer with tweezers

  3) use aseptic techniques / sterilise equipment
• In Micropropagation nutrients are added to the agar medium to help the plant grow . Which nutrients Shoukd be added and explain why ?


  1) nitrates for amino acids / proteins

  2) magnesium for chlorophyll/ chloroplasts
• Plants can be cloned by micropropagation . Suggest three conditions needed to ensure healthy growth of the small plants


  1) temperature

  2) light

  3) sterilise/aseptic conditions