440 Horticulture Today
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
• Use of a meristem from a contaminated stock or
stock with a virus to produce clean stock after
micropropagation.
• Chromosome doubling by using antimitotic agents during
tissue culture. This technique can change a sterile seed
into a fertile one. This technique can also be used to create
new and unique ornamental cultivars of plant material.
• Somatic hybridization, which occurs when plants lose
their cell walls due to the introduction of cellulose
enzyme. This produces a protoplast (also known as a
somatic cell), Figure 17-14. Once this occurs, cells tend
to merge or fuse together regardless of whether they are
similar plants. Cells are grown into callus phase, then into
plantlets, and eventually into full plants via tissue culture.
Unlike with traditional breeding techniques, plants cells
can be combined regardless of their compatibility.
• Creation of plants that have changes in their genetics that are not
expressed physically but rather in the environment in which they are
grown. Examples include growing a southern magnolia in New York,
a rhododendron in alkaline conditions, or a tomato in soil rich with
unusually toxic salts, Figure 17-15.
Careers in Micropropagation
A career in micropropagation and tissue culture ensures a future fi lled
with opportunities for growth. Technicians fi nd many career opportunities
in research and development. These jobs are found in the private sector, with
government agencies, and with colleges and universities (especially those
that are agriculturally related or land grant universities).
vHeiti Paves/Shutterstock.com
Figure 17-14. The protoplast of a tobacco
plant.
B
Marcin Gabryelczyk/Shutterstock.com
Figure 17-15. A—The future of micropropagation and tissue culture involves somaclonal
hybridization. A plant could be fused with another plant to develop new traits. Imagine
the beauty of the southern magnolia withstanding the killer winters of Maine. B—What
about an acid-loving rhododendron withstanding the alkaline soils of your state? Their
beauty could be enjoyed around the world via somaclonal hybridization techniques.
A
Vahan Abrahamyan/Shutterstock.com
Corner Question
What is one plant
that you eat almost
everyday that is a
result of somatic fusion
(hybridization)?