plant cloning

Question 1

What is vegetative propagation?

Answer 1

• Production of plant clones from non-reproductive tissue ( e.g roots, leaves, stems)

Question 2

what is the underground food store for onions called?

Answer 2

Bulbs

Question 3

What is the under ground food store for potatoes called?

Answer 3

Tubers

Question 4

Taking and growing a cutting from the stem: practical

Answer 4

1) use a scalpel to take a 5-10cm cutting from the stem
2) remove all leaves from lower end of cutting, but leave one leaf at the tip
3) Dip lower end of the cutting in rooting powder, which contains hormones causing root formation.
4) plant the cutting in a pot containing suitable growth medium
5) provide cutting with moist warm environment, by putting it in a “propagator”, or covering the entire pot with a plastic bag.
6) Once your cutting has formed its own roots, you can plant it somewhere else to continue growing.

Question 5

Taking and growing a cutting from roots: practical

Answer 5

1) Cut a piece of root with a straight cut using a scalpel
2) Remove the uncut end of the root with a slanted cut
3) dip in rooting powder and plant in a suitable growth medium
4) place in a propagator and once own roots is formed plant it somewhere else to continue growing

Question 6

Taking and growing a cutting from leaves: practical

Answer 6

split vein cutting : Removing an entire leaf, and scoring the large veins on the lower surface of the leaf using a scalpel

• then place on top of a growth medium with broken veins facing down,
• place in a propagator

new plant should be produced for every broken vein.

Question 7

Tissue culture practical:

Answer 7

1) cells are taken from the stem or root tips of a plant that is going to be cloned
2) cells are sterilised to kill any microorganisms, so bacteria and fungi can’t compete with plant cells for nutrients, so rate of growth is not reduced.
3) Cells placed on a “culture medium” containing hormones (auxin) and nutrients
4) Once cells have divided and grown into a new plant they are taken OUT of the medium and planted in soil.

developing into plant genetically identical to parent plant

Question 8

What is micropropagation:

Answer 8

When tissue culture is used to produce lots of cloned plants very quickly.

used in horticulture– cultivation of plant for any purpose on a small scale ( e.g gardening)

used in agriculture- using land to grow crops for human consumption.

Question 9

Arguments for Artificial plant cloning ( 4 advantages)

Answer 9

1) Desirable genetic characteristics are more likely to be passed on to clones by asexual, than it would in sexual reproduction.
2) tissue culture allow plants to be reproduced in any season, because the environment is controlled
3) Less space required
4) less time consuming and lots of plants can be produced quickly

Question 10

Arguments against artificial plant cloning (4 disadvantages):

Answer 10

1) Undesirable genetic characteristics are always passed on to clones ( eg fruit with many seeds)
2) no generic variation - single disease could wipe out entire population
3) high production costs, due to high energy usage and training skilled workers- so not suitable for small scale production
4) risk of contamination by microorganisms