1
Q
What is differentiation?
A
Process of a cell changing to become specialised for its job , plant cells don’t ever lose that ability unlike animal cells
2
Q
Why is cloning easier in plants than animals?
A
Plants keep their ability to differentiate
therefore cutting a bit of the parent plant and planting it, will just grow another plant
(with a genetically identical copy) - cloning
3
Q
How do you clone plants ?
A
- Chose the plant you want which will have the characteristics you want
E.g a good fruit crop, a flower.
- Remove several small pieces of tissue from the parent plant (if you cut tissues from fast growing roots and shoot tips, you get the best results)
- Grow the cut tissue in a growth medium (contains nutrient) and growth hormones
- Step 3 is done under aseptic (sterile) to prevent growth of microbes
- When the tissue is producing shoots and roots, it is moved to soil (potting compost) and carry on growing
4
Q
What are the advantages of cloning plants?
A
- can be fairly sure of the outcome as it will be identical to its parents
- possible to grow a large amount of plants that are hard to grow from seeds
(Rather than seeds, use cloning)
5
Q
What are the disadvantages of cloning plants?
A
If plants suffer from a disease (due to a change in environment) - all plants will have the same problem (due to same gene)
Lack of genetic variation (similar to breeding animals)
