Uses of Plant Tissue Culture
Plant tissue culture now has direct commercial applications, as well as value
in basic research into cell biology, genetics, and biochemistry. The techniques
include culture of cells, anthers, ovules, and embryos on experimental to industrial
scales, protoplast isolation and fusion, cell selection, and meristem and bud
culture. Applications include:
- micropropagation using meristem and shoot culture to
|
Figure 2 Callus cultures derived from onions. |
- produce large
numbers of identical individuals
- screening programs of cells, rather than plants for advantageous characters
large-scale growth of plant cells in liquid culture as a source of secondary
products
- crossing distantly related species by protoplast fusion and regeneration of
the novel hybrid
- production of dihaploid plants from haploid cultures to achieve
homozygous lines more rapidly in breeding programs
- as a tissue for transformation, followed by either short-term testing of
genetic constructs or regeneration of transgenic plants removal of viruses
by propagation from meristematic tissues.