Question

Which one of the following plant tissue culture techniques can be most effectively used for production of virus-free plants?

• A. Protoplast culture
• B. Culture of shoot apical meristem
• C. Somatic embryogenesis from calli of leaf explants
• D. Production of cybrids

Hint:

Shoot apical meristem culture is widely used in the production of virus-free plants because the apical meristem is often not infected with viruses, making it ideal for propagation.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understand the objective of producing virus-free plants.
Virus-free plants are critical for healthy crop production, especially in vegetatively propagated species like potatoes and grapes. Tissue culture methods allow for the removal of viruses by isolating parts of the plant that are naturally virus-free or have very low virus concentration.

Step 2: Evaluate the different techniques.

• Protoplast culture: Involves growing plant cells without cell walls. While useful in genetic engineering, it is not targeted for virus elimination.
• Culture of shoot apical meristem: The most effective technique for producing virus-free plants. The meristematic region is often virus-free due to the absence of vascular tissue, which restricts virus movement.
• Somatic embryogenesis from calli of leaf explants: Useful for plant regeneration but does not inherently eliminate viruses.
• Production of cybrids: Involves fusing cytoplasm from two different cells. This technique is not aimed at removing viruses from infected tissues.

Step 3: Conclusion.
The most suitable method for producing virus-free plants is culture of shoot apical meristem, due to its ability to isolate uninfected tissue from virus-affected plants.