Question

Name the technique and the property of plant cells that can help to grow somaclones of certain desired varieties of apple. Explain how somaclones of apple can be obtained in the lab so as to get the desired variety on a large scale.

Answer 1

The technique which helps to grow somaclones is called micro-propogation and the property of plant cells that help us to do so is totipotency.
Totipotency is the capacity to generate a whole plant from any cell/explants under sterile conditions in special nutrient media.
Plants that are genetically identical to original plants from which they are grown are called somaclones.

The somaclones of apples can be obtained in labs by following the below-mentioned steps:

• A small part of the apple plant can be taken out and grown in special nutrient media.
• This nutrient media should have all the components required for the growth of the plant, for example, salts, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, hormones, etc.
• All this needs to be done in a sterile environment in the laboratory.
• This would help us to obtain somaclones of the apple plant in a very short duration.