INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS IT?
USES
CASE STUDY 1
Anther culture for cold hardiness
CASE STUDY 2
Somaclones for disease resistance
CASE
STUDY 3
Demonstration
of tissue culture for teaching
PUBLICATIONS
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Callus cultures derived from onion
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 produce large
numbers of identical individuals
- screening programmes 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 programmes
- 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
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