what is tissue culture? what is callus?

• Tissue culture is a laboratory technique of propagating new plants from tiny portions of the parent plant.
• Whole plants could be regenerated from explants, i.e., any part of a plant taken out and grown in a test tube, under sterile conditions in special nutrient media.
• This method of producing thousands of plants through tissue culture is called micro propagation.
• Plants produced using tissue culture method is genetically identical to the original plant.
• Whole plant from any plant part can be grown well in a nutrient medium consists of sucrose, also inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids and growth regulators like auxins, cytokinins etc. in a proper contaminant free environment.
• It is a quick method to produce large number of plants in a short period.
• Example: Plants like tomato, banana, apple, etc., have been produced on commercial scale.

Advantages of tissue culture:

• It is used to obtain disease free plants
• Plants with desired trait can be cultured and identical plants (clones) can be obtained

An unorganized tissue mass derived from plant parts growing on solid substrate is termed as callus. It is a tissue culture technique.