Types of Plant Tissue Cultures

The four types of plant tissue culture described in this section are distinguished from one another purely by which part of the plant is used as the starting explant - not by any difference in the underlying principle of aseptic, in vitro growth. Organ culture uses whole organs such as embryos, anthers, ovaries, roots or shoots; meristem culture uses only the plant's actively dividing meristematic tissue; protoplast culture uses individual cells stripped of their walls; and cell suspension culture uses single cells or small cell clusters grown directly in liquid medium. Each type suits a different practical goal, from virus elimination (meristem c …