Plant Tissue Culture

Plant tissue culture may be defined as a process whereby small pieces of living tissues

explants are isolated from an organism and grown aseptically on a nutrient medium under controlled

conditions. Two concepts viz., plasticity and totipotency are important for understanding plant cell

culture and regeneration

It is the genetic potential of a plant cell to produce the entire plant and the ability of a plant

cell to perform all the functions of development which are characteristic of zygote

It is the ability of the plants to adapt to environmental conditions by altering their metabolism,

growth and development to t suit their environment.

When plant cell and tissues are cultured in vitro they generally exhibit a very high degree of

plasticity which allows one type of tissue or organ to be initiated from another type .

The history of plant tissue culture begins with the concept of the cell theory given

independently by Schleiden 1838 and Schwann 1839 which implied.that the cell is a functional unit.

The first plantlet formation in vitro was reported as early in 1940s Ernest Bell (1946) reported it in

Tropaeolum and Lupinus. It was only during 1960s that Morel reported plantlets formation in orchids which became commercially viable programme.

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