Question

Which of the following is NOT an application of plant tissue culture?

• A. Propagating asexual plants
• B. Clonal propagation
• C. Isolation of plant variants
• D. Obtaining high quality metabolite

Hint:

Plant tissue culture is used to clonally propagate plants that are difficult to multiply by seeds or vegetative means. Naturally asexual plants multiply on their own easily, making tissue culture redundant for their normal propagation.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Plant tissue culture is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues, or organs under sterile, in vitro conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition.
It relies on the totipotency of plant cells to regenerate whole plants.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us evaluate each of the listed applications:
Clonal Propagation (B): This is the most common commercial application of tissue culture (micropropagation).
It allows the rapid, large-scale vegetative clonal multiplication of disease-free, elite plant genotypes. Thus, (B) is a major application.
Isolation of plant variants (C): Plant tissue culture induces somaclonal variations (genetic and epigenetic variations in regenerants).
These variations are used by breeders to isolate novel agronomic traits, such as disease resistance or drought tolerance. Thus, (C) is a major application.
Obtaining high-quality metabolites (D): Cell suspension cultures are used to produce valuable secondary metabolites (such as alkaloids, pigments, and pharmaceuticals) under controlled bioreactor conditions. Thus, (D) is a major application.
Propagating asexual plants (A): Plants that naturally reproduce asexually (apomixis or vegetative propagation, like potato tubers or runners) do not require tissue culture for their normal propagation.
While tissue culture can propagate them, it is not considered a primary or logical application, as they propagate vegetatively in nature.
Therefore, (A) is the correct choice.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Propagating asexual plants is not a primary application of tissue culture, which corresponds to option (A).