Artificial Plant Cloning

Question 1

what are examples of artificial cloning?

Answer 1

• Cuttings
• Tissue Culture

Question 2

How are cuttings artificially cloned?

Answer 2

• Remove shoot tip, root tip or leaf
• clean cut through the xylem and phloem
• e.g. sharp scissors
• apply rooting powder to cut end
  
  • containing plant hormone auxin
• e.g. IAA
• Transfer to soil
• control the conditions/environment
  e.g propagator/ greenhouse
• roots and shoots develop

Question 3

How is tissue culture artificially cloned?

Answer 3

• Take cells/small pieces from parent plant e.g. shoot tip/root tip (dividing cells)
• sterilize cells (explant) to kill microorganisms e.g. bleach
• use aseptic techniques
• put on growth medium e.g. agar plate
• combines glucose/amino acids/ nitrate etc
• add growth hormones e.g. High auxins and cytokines
  this forms a mass of unspecialised cells called callus
• subdivide callus to make many cells
• change plant hormone ration
  
  • roots and shoots start to form
• transfer to soil (propagator)

Question 4

What are things that are in common about cuttings/ advantages?

Answer 4

• offspring is genetically identical
• easy
• fast

Question 5

What are things that are in common about cuttings/ disadvantages?

Answer 5

• only make a few clones at a time

Question 6

What are things that are in common about Tissue Culture/ advantages?

Answer 6

• offspring are all genetically identical
• many thousands of clones can be made from a single parent plant (micropropagation)

Question 7

What are things that are in common about Tissue Culture/ disadvantages?

Answer 7

• expensive