Cell and Tissue Culture
Regeneration of plant tissue on nutrient medium
Plants have the unique ability of potentially unlimited growth: as they grow, they develop various organs like leafs, roots or shoots. Their living cells are able to divide and grow into a completely new plant with identical genetic information ("regeneration").
Plant breeders make use of this ability in various ways:
- In vitro tissue cultures are used to quickly regenerate a great number of complete and genetically identical plants. By using axillary buds (eyes) of a potato tuber, plant breeders are able to regenerate some 10,000 tubers within approximately 10 months.
- If stripped of their cell walls, it is possible to induce the fusion of two "naked" plant cells of two closely related species. Plant breeders are using this technique to combine genetic traits of closely related species since crossing is normally difficult in these cases.
- Plant breeders also use tissue culture systems to regenerate diploid (homozygous) true-breeding plants from haploid pollen tissue, sparing them the very considerable task of several backcrossing steps to create homozygous plants.
- Tissue culture is also a valuable technique in preservation breeding of species with vegetative propagation, as e.g. potato or strawberry. These species are prone to pests and diseases in open-field planting. Propagation in tissue culture techniques ensures a healthy offspring.
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