Post by Rick Hillier on Apr 18, 2008 13:53:50 GMT -5
Greetings,
Those here who know me will attest to the fact that it doesn't take very much to confuse me, hence the following thoughts that I would very much like someone to clarify and/or correct for me.
I always thought that tissue culture (in plants) was the process by which you take living cells from an actively growing part of a plant (eg. the part in the crown area where the cells are somewhat undifferentiated and are actively dividing), keep them multiplying, but remaining undifferentiated in an artificial environment, collect them at intervals and then "planting" them in some sort of sterilized artificial medium where they will ultimately grow into a clone of the parent plant.
In otherwords, isn't tissue culture a way to mass-produce clones of a given and desirable plant?
What is confusing my tiny little brain is that, a while ago, I got suckered in by a fellow who shall remain nameless, but many here know him... where I purchased a pile of tissue cultured plants only to get a bunch of bottles with some clear gel at the bottom into which a few seeds were scattered. Of course, nothing grew and I don't need to tell you where I'd love to shove those bottles should I ever happen to meet this individual...
I see many threads where people plant seeds on a sterile nutrient medium and call that tissue culture. Is that not just planting seeds on an alternative media, as this does not involve cloning, and you will wind up with a bunch of different plants.
Not that I am going to get into this... I'd rather pay someone to do it for me if necessary, but if someone could give my brain a kick in the right direction, it would be very much appreciated.
>>> Rick <<<
Those here who know me will attest to the fact that it doesn't take very much to confuse me, hence the following thoughts that I would very much like someone to clarify and/or correct for me.
I always thought that tissue culture (in plants) was the process by which you take living cells from an actively growing part of a plant (eg. the part in the crown area where the cells are somewhat undifferentiated and are actively dividing), keep them multiplying, but remaining undifferentiated in an artificial environment, collect them at intervals and then "planting" them in some sort of sterilized artificial medium where they will ultimately grow into a clone of the parent plant.
In otherwords, isn't tissue culture a way to mass-produce clones of a given and desirable plant?
What is confusing my tiny little brain is that, a while ago, I got suckered in by a fellow who shall remain nameless, but many here know him... where I purchased a pile of tissue cultured plants only to get a bunch of bottles with some clear gel at the bottom into which a few seeds were scattered. Of course, nothing grew and I don't need to tell you where I'd love to shove those bottles should I ever happen to meet this individual...
I see many threads where people plant seeds on a sterile nutrient medium and call that tissue culture. Is that not just planting seeds on an alternative media, as this does not involve cloning, and you will wind up with a bunch of different plants.
Not that I am going to get into this... I'd rather pay someone to do it for me if necessary, but if someone could give my brain a kick in the right direction, it would be very much appreciated.
>>> Rick <<<