Tissue Culture is a process of isolating cells from plant tissue (explants) which are cultured (grown artificially), in a nutrient medium under sterile conditions. These explants can under the right conditions induce rapid growth producing new shoots and with the right hormones new roots as well. At the shoot stage, these plantlets (the plants in the tissue cul- ture) can also be divided producing large numbers of new plantlets. Because of the ease of producing a large number of plantlets which literally are exact duplicates of the mother.
This technique is used frequently in large agricultural setups as well as in labs. Using tissue culture to produce clones in this method is called micro propagation.
Marco arranged for me to have a chat with Dr. Tissue Culture from Advanced Tissue Culture a Canadian com- pany specializing in tissue culture. The company has been in existence since 2008 and the motivation behind its gen- esis was to be able to work with the plant from a purely scientific point of view.
Anyone that has ever had to keep mothers or make clones knows what a task that is. Especially those that are in the seed business. As each plant either male or female repre- sents one strain, it is not uncommon for some breeders to have to keep 40-60 different plants, be they moms or dads. In addition to space there is also the other issue of passing genetic disfunction’s if they are present in one of your moms.
This is why Tissue Culture is such an interesting way to keep mothers and to make clones. Dr Tissue Culture explains that “tissue culturing is the only way to remove unwanted contaminants within the plant and the only way to preserve the plants genetics.
He goes on to explain that “seeds are known to carry virus through their RNA, which means the mother has a virus, which means your clones will have a virus and anything that you breed with will have a virus. These viruses which you may not even realize your plant has will often appear to look like a nutrient deficiency.” Truly the only way to ensure 100% exact duplication from what you know to be a sterile 100% healthy plant is indeed to use the tissue culture technique.
Dr Tissue Culture came to tissue culture because he want- ed to develop a bettered product as far as clones go. He spent more then ten years researching and perfecting tis- sue culture. This technique relies on a scientific method which ensures a pure product every time. In this way you are not changing the genetic material, simply duplicating it. The advantages to tissue culture are vast, as I’ve already mentioned space is a big issue with mother rooms. Inevitably the rooms are always over filled which leads to crammed rooms. With these crammed rooms light and air flow are always an issue.
This technique really is the future of modern breeding. By being able to store your genetics for years in a way that they don’t deteriorate is the perfect way to keep
both males and females.
In addition to this as the moms get older they can become increasingly unhealthy which in turn gets passed down onto the clones you take from them. With tissue culture most of these problems disappear.
As you are using an exact duplicate of the genetic material you ensure that each of the copies are exactly the same as the original, very important in breeding. Dr Tissue Culture explains that, “using tissue culture you can main- tain genetics for 20+ years. Instead of wounding the plant we are multiplying its cell structure and holding it in a juvenile state with no fragmented cells. From this thou- sands of copies can be made.
This means that 25 plantlets can in over eight months produce 12,000 more plantlets. This while using only 3000 lux of light per 100 plants, and one liter of water per 70 plantlets. The space you save is also huge, on one 2ft x 4ft x 6ft rack you could have up to 1,200 plantlets.
This technique really is the future of modern breeding. By being able to store your genetics for years in a way that they don’t deteriorate is the perfect way to keep both males and females. In addition by being able to easily ship these plantlets it opens up even better access to sharing genetics. The technique to transfer the plantlets into another medium and get it begging again is super easy, “even a ten year old can learn it,” Dr Tissue Culture says. He goes on to say that “really this is the only way to keep genetics backed up in a way where their genetic integrity is constantly maintained.”
BBF, which is the nutrient company Dr Tissue Culture has in addition to his company Advanced Tissue Culture also has products integral to the tissue culture process. The nutrient company has been in existence since 2008. The nutrient company supplied the legendary seed company The Cannabis Seed Bank of Holland. This was from 1986 and lasted until the early 90’s. Their A and B system has been perfected over the years. When mixed with water that has ph of 7.4 BBF nutrients will lower it naturally to a ph of 5.5. For their A and B food they use a special milling process that finely grinds the base of the nutrients into a perfectly soluble solution so that when both parts are mixed you will get an ideal nutrient mix. The food works on a balanced principle ensuring that all micro and macro nutrients are present. Their research showed that plants require a well balanced diet so to speak in order to ensure a fluid process when it comes to nutrient uptake.
Check out www.advancedtissuecultures.com for upcoming products they will be selling tissue cultured seeds and tissue culture hardened rooted cuttings. As of June of this year they will be open and offering their clients tissue cultures, they have a 12,000 square foot lab and will have a capacity to produce 1 million cultures per year. Plant tissue culture is a remarkable system ensuring genetic uniformity and pure disease free cuttings. A perfect way to keep and store multiple genetics for future use, including males for future genetic projects. Tissue culture it seems is really the future of growing and it seems to now be a viable source for securing new genetics for your grow, thanks to Dr Tissue Culture from Advanced Tissue Culture.