Cloning (B3)

Asexual reproduction produces clones because the offspring have the desirable characteristics of the parent. A clone is an organism that is identical to the other offspring or the parent. Cloning plants is easy because mature plants still have stem cells in their meristems. The problem with cloning plants is as the new plants have no genetic variation they would all be susceptible to environmental changes or particular diseases. Tissue culture can be used to make new plants by asexual reproduction. Technicians take many smal pieces of tissue from a plant with desirable characteristics and puts them in a sterile liquid or jelly. This very clean aseptic technique ensures that bacteria or moulds do not contaminate the cultures. The culture medium contains some nutrients and special chemicals. The plant cells are kept at…