The role of Plant Tissue Culture

Known to many as plant cloning, the concept of Plant Tissue Culture (PTC) is actually uncomplicated. Theoretically, a part of a plant that you want to clone, will be cut-off, and then cleaned or surface-sterilized using chemicals. That will be the ex-plant. Then it will be placed on a semi-solid medium or agar using sterile-aseptic techniques. From here onwards. what happens is the medium acts like an artificial growth media for that ex-plant to develop and grow into a new-identical plant, under controlled-sterile conditions. I will be discussing the technicality of the PTC technique in another article for those looking to establishing deeper understanding on the subject. In this short article, I will be sharing the significance of PTC in our every day life.

Image from : plantcelltechnology.com

Large-scale production of economically significant plants

The production of valuable plant clones at a larger volume in one given time has become the driving factor behind the employment of PTC in relevant industries such as forestry and agriculture. Theoretically for certain plants, you can take the traditional approach to plant them without PTC. For example, by planting the seeds, or through root cuttings and so on. But if we remember the advantage of PTC, plant clones are produced in larger amounts from a single planting material, the clones are also disease-free, and one of the main reasons also is that you can produce plants that don't have seeds to grow from. Two very common plants that are cloned locally nowadays are bananas and pineapples. What drives this is the demand in the industry, both foreign and local. With the implementation of PTC to produce these seedlings or "plantlets", local industries, local farmers, and even the general public will have bigger access to plant these plants at home or in large scale. A variant of pineapple known as MD2 pineapple, species Ananas comosus, is widely micropropagated in Malaysia. Local companies such as Arus Primajaya Sdn Bhd produces these clones at a commercial scale.

Source : Arus Primajaya Sdn Bhd facebook page

Saving plants that are in danger of widespread diseases and extinction

While it may sound good to make money from plants (literally like cloning money), the value of PTC is actually the science behind it. You will not only be able to clone any plants in the world (theoretically), but you can also have a helping hand in saving them. Plants are no difference from humans and animals. They are also at risk of diseases that will eventually lead to their poor growth and death. Using the biotechnological approach of PTC, these plants can be saved by not only cloning them and producing healthy clones, but also preserve them for the long run. This will ensure continuous supply of healthy plantlets.

In some cases, plants have selections of rare species, and also those that are going extinct. These can be contributed by both natural and man-made situations happening around us every single day. Using PTC as a platform for plant preservation, these rare or extinct plants can have a chance at existing in larger numbers. One good example would be the study to clone a critically endangered tree species named Ilex khasiana, a Holly tree endemic to the regions of Mechalaya, India. You can read about the research here.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, PTC has manifest itself as a significant part of today's industry. Its potential, when utilized property, provides opportunity and solutions to current industry demands and biodiversity. In the public's view, plant cloning may appear as something far from the reach of the non-science literate. This is actually not entirely true, you can actually take short courses to learn the basic techniques of PTC, and with the right tools or kits, you can actually perform PTC even at home. There are some starter kits such as the ones we supply, is a great start for those who would like to have a hand at cloning plants at home. In a nutshell, plant cloning is something for everyone, and is something that benefits everyone. In CROPS, we hope to continuously share knowledge, ideas, and concepts through our short articles. Together, we'll grow the community.