Tissue culture

Natural selection and genetic modification · Selective breeding and tissue culture · note 2 of 2

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In short

Tissue culture is growing new cells or tissues from small pieces of tissue, using aseptic technique and a sterile nutrient medium containing nutrients and growth hormones. In plant breeding it quickly produces many plants that are genetically identical to the parent, so desirable characteristics are kept. In medical research it provides identical cells for testing new drugs.

Tissue culture is growing new cells or tissues from small pieces of tissue, using sterile conditions and a growth medium.

Take a small piece of tissue or a few cells from the parent plant.
Use aseptic technique so that bacteria and fungi do not contaminate the culture.
Place the tissue on a sterile nutrient medium (such as agar) containing nutrients and growth hormones.
The cells divide, forming a mass of cells that grow into small plants, which are genetically identical to the parent.

Advantages in plant breeding programmes

Many identical plants can be produced quickly, from a very small amount of tissue.
Plants with desirable characteristics, such as those produced by selective breeding or genetic engineering, can be copied exactly.
Plants can be produced all year round, in a small space.
Rare plants can be reproduced to help save them.

Advantages in medical research

Large numbers of identical cells can be grown for research, so results are reliable.
New drugs can be tested on cultured cells, reducing the need to test on animals or people.
Cells can be used to study how diseases develop.

Exam tip:

'Identical' is the key word for plant breeding: tissue culture produces genetically identical offspring, so useful characteristics are kept.

Quick check

What is selective breeding?
Show answer
Choosing parents with desired characteristics to breed together, and repeating this over many generations.
Name two characteristics selected for in food plants.
Show answer
Any two of: disease resistance, larger fruit or grains, better taste, higher yield.
Why can selective breeding be a risk to a population?
Show answer
It reduces genetic variation, so a new disease or change could affect all individuals.

Written and checked against the Edexcel GCSE Biology (1BI0) specification · Updated October 2026

Frequently asked questions

What is selective breeding in plants?

Selective breeding in plants is when humans choose plants with a desired characteristic, such as disease resistance, larger fruit or higher yield, and breed them together. The offspring with the characteristic are selected and bred again, over many generations, until it is strongly shown. This produces more food from the same land.

What are the disadvantages of selective breeding?

The main disadvantage of selective breeding is that breeding from only a few individuals reduces genetic variation. If a new disease or a change in the environment appears, all the individuals may be affected and the population could die out. Inbreeding can also make harmful inherited conditions more common in domesticated animals.

What are the advantages of tissue culture?

Triple only Tissue culture quickly produces many genetically identical plants from a very small amount of tissue, so useful characteristics are copied exactly. Plants can be produced all year round in a small space, and rare plants can be saved. In medical research, it gives large numbers of identical cells for testing new drugs.

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