Author
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Reed, Barbara |
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Submitted to: World Wide Web Corvallis ARS GRIN Home Page
Publication Type: Other Publication Acceptance Date: 7/7/2004 Publication Date: 7/7/2004 Citation: Reed, B.M. 2004. Strategies for producing and maintaining clean cultures [Educational Web Presentation]. Available: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cov/ Interpretive Summary: This Web Presentation outlines steps to take for producing and maintaining plant-tissue cultures free of bacteria and fungi is the goal of both research and production laboratories. Success in producing 'clean' cultures is dependent on many factors, especially the initial step of culture initiation. Initiating cultures from cuttings of healthy plants is always the best strategy for producing contaminant-free fast-growing cultures. Also important is attention to the type of plant tissue used to initiate cultures and the use of specialized media to detect contaminants early in the process. Specialized bacterial or fungal growth media can be used to indicate if contamination is present so only the clean plant material is carried on to the propagation process. The third step is continued checking of plant cultures at key steps so that newly introduced or latent contaminants are detected before they are spread to other cultures. Standard protocols for choosing explants and detecting contaminants early can greatly decrease the number of contaminant losses in research or production laboratories. Technical Abstract: This Web Presentation outlines steps to take for producing and maintaining plant-tissue cultures free of bacteria and fungi is the goal of both research and production laboratories. Success in producing 'clean' cultures is dependent on many factors, especially the initial step of culture initiation. Initiating cultures from cuttings of healthy plants is always the best strategy for producing contaminant-free fast-growing cultures. Special attention to the growth condition and health of the mother plant is the first and often the easiest step in preventing contamination of cultures. Also important is attention to the plant tissue used to initiate culture and the use of specialized media to detect contaminants early in the process. Plant tissues that are not in contact with the soil will often have fewer contaminants than tissues close to the soil. Specialized bacterial or fungal growth media can be used to indicate if contamination is present so only uninfested plant material is carried on to the propagation process. The third step is continued checking of plant cultures at key steps so that newly introduced or latent contaminants are detected before they are spread to other cultures. Standard protocols for choosing explants and detecting contaminants early can greatly decrease the losses due to contamination in research or production laboratories. |
