Culture Medium - Techniques of Plant Tissue Culture

In nature green plants are capable of synthesizing organic compounds necessary for their growth and development from the mineral nutrients and they can absorb water from the soil and obtain CO₂ from the atmosphere. However, in tissue cultures the normal biosynthetic potentiality of the cells is weakened, therefore, it is necessary to provide all the essential organic and inorganic nutrients (including sucrose) and growth regulators, particularly an auxin and a cytokinin. Nutritional requirements for optimal growth of tissue cultures may vary with the source (plant). They are also affected by the age of the explants and the stage of development. For example very young embryos require a more elaborate- component of the medium as compared to mature embryos. Similarly culture requirements of single cells are more complex than shoots.