Transgenic plants and Plant Tissue Culture

Transgenic/GM crops: 

Transgenic plants and Plant Tissue Culture important part of Biotechnology. Genetically engineered crops are generally referred to as Transgenic Crops / Genetically Modified ( GM ) crops.

Transgenic plants:

Plants produced through genetic modification typically contain a gene or genes from an unrelated organism; such genes are referred to as transgenes, and transgenic plants are referred to as transgenic plants.

Development steps for Transgenic Crops:

In the production of genetically engineered crops, there are five major phases. Those such as;

1. Extraction: Extraction of DNA from the organism.
2. Gene cloning: Multiplication of the number of DNA.
3. Mass production designed and packaged: Mass development in a host cell of the cloned gene in order to produce thousands of copies. The gene of interest is engineered and packaged so that, once within the host plant, it can be regulated and properly expressed.
4. Introduced: The changed gene is inserted via a process called transformation into the host cells of the being altered.
5. Back cross breeding: F1 mixing with either parent is referred to as back cross-breeding. Back cross-breeding is the final stage in the process of genetic engineering.

Application of Transgenic Plants:

There are both basic and applied uses of transgenic plants that are briefly summarized below.

1. • They have proven to be extremely useful instruments in plant molecular biology research, gene action regulation, regulatory sequence recognition, etc.
   • Relevant genes were transferred to plants in order to enhance their agronomic and other characteristics.
   • Several gene transfers have been aimed at improving the quality of transgenic plants’ products, such as protein or lipid quality, etc.
   • Transgenic plants are intended to create new biochemical products such as interferon, insulin, etc., or useful biopolymers such as polyhydroxy-butyrate that are not produced by ordinary plants.
   • Transgenic plants that express a gene that encodes an antigenic protein from a pathogen have been developed.

Plant Tissue Culture:

The culture of plant tissues is the cultivation of tissue, cells, or organs on sterilized nutrient media in test tubes in a sterile environment. Plant cell and tissue culture approaches are often referred to as in vitro techniques.

Totipotency:

Totipotency is the ability of a plant cell to conduct all the zygote’s characteristic growth functions, i.e. its ability to grow into a full plant.

Classification of techniques for tissue culture:

Depending on the plant components to be used as an ex-plant and the form of in vitro growth, tissue culture techniques are grouped into the following four categories.

• Embryo culture
• Meristem culture
• Anther or pollen culture and
• Tissue and cell culture

Why is the cultivation of plant tissue better than conventional methods of propagation?

Different techniques in the culture of plant tissue can give certain benefits over conventional propagation methods, including:

• Creation of precise copies of plants that produce especially good flowers, fruits, or other features that are desirable.
• To grow mature plants quickly.
• Development of several plants in the absence of seeds or pollinators required to harvest seeds.
• Regeneration of entire plants from genetically modified plant cells.
• Development of plants in sterile containers, enabling them to fly with greatly reduced chances of transmitting diseases, pests, and pathogens.
• Production of seed plants, i.e. orchids and nepenthes, which otherwise have very low germinating and growing chances.
• Production of seed plants, i.e. orchids and nepenthes, which otherwise have very low germinating and growing chances.

Tissue Culture Positions in Crop Production:

For crop enhancement, traditional breeding methods are the most commonly used. However, these approaches must be combined with plant tissue culture approaches in some cases, either to improve their effectiveness or to be able to achieve the goal that is not possible through traditional methods. The argument will be demonstrated with one illustration of each case. Six to seven generations of self-production include the production of pure lines or inbreeds. Production of haploids, accompanied by chromosome doubling, by distant crosses or using pollen, anther or ovary culture, reduces this time to two generations.

Six to seven generations of self-production include the production of pure lines or inbreeds. Production of haploids, accompanied by chromosome doubling, by distant crosses or using pollen, anther or ovary culture, reduces this time to two generations.

This represents 4-6 years of saving. The other example is the transfer from Bacillus Thuringiens is to a plant cell of a useful bacterial gene, say, cry (Crystal protein) gene, and eventually the regeneration of entire plants containing and expressing this gene (Transgenic plants). Only a combination of tissue culture and genetic engineering can accomplish this, and none of the traditional breeding methods can ever grow such a plant.

Plant Tissue Culture Application:

The following are the significant applications of plant tissue culture:

(A) Application in the area of plant breeding:

1. In vitro pollination and fertilization:

• Overcoming self-incompatibility
• Overcoming cross- incompatibility
• Haploid production through parthenogenesis and
• Production of stress-tolerant plants.

2. Production of haploid plant: It has several uses in plant breeding

• Production of 100% homozygous line
• Production of F₁ doubled haploid cultivar
• Selection of mutant line for the desired character.

3. Triploid production:

Through endosperm culture, triploids are formed. Self-sterile and typically seedless, triploid plants are. This characteristic increases fruit edibility and is attractive for many fruits such as apples, bananas, mulberries, grapes, mangoes, watermelons, and other crops of commercial value.

4. Embryo culture and embryo rescue:

   The following are the possible applications of embryo culture.

• Overcoming seed dormancy
• Shortening breeding cycle
• Overcoming seed sterility
• Production of monoploid
• Rescuing embryos from the incompatible cross

5. Somatic hybridization :

The most significant use of Somatic Hybridization is the development of new organisms. It has many applications in the following fields, in addition to that.

• Recombination of genetics in a sexually sterile plant
• Transformation of cytoplasm
• Overcoming marital incompatibility obstacles

6. Genetic Transformation:

The conversion and expression of foreign genes into plant genes is one of the most significant fields of plant tissue culture.

• Development of transgenic crops resistant to insects, pathogens, and herbicides
• Production of quality transgenic crops.
• Reporter and marker gene expression.
• Nuclear male sterility engineering.

7. In vitro Mutation Breeding:

It has a great advantage over traditional breeding of mutations where more generation is required for any character enhancement.

8. Somaclonal and gametoclonal variation:

A proper technology for genetic modification of crops with polygenic characteristics could be somaclonal variation.

9. Other application of Plant Tissue and cell culture:

Other major plant tissue culture applications are—

Shift of organelles

Biochemical manufacturing

Bio transforming

Somatic hybridization

Exchange of germplasm and conservation

B) Tissue Culture applications in the field of Horticulture

• Development of plants free of diseases
• For vegetative propagation, fast multiplication
• The community of Meristem for virus elimination
• Clonal propagation and large-scale multiplication from one single ex-plant of genetically identical plants.
• Establishment of in vitro stock plants free of disease in culture.
• Storage of germplasm and long term storage of stock plant

One of the renowned Genetic Engineering info is :

A Guide To Genetic Engineering Biotech And How It Works