What is tissue culture used for?

Animal tissue culturing is a key part of life science research as it enables scientists to investigate the biology of tissues from multicellular organisms in vitro. To initiate a tissue culture, a sample tissue fragment is cultivated from a parent organism and artificially perpetuated in a controlled environment in an effort to retain functionality.

Plant tissue culturing, also referred to as micropropagation, is a technique used extensively to mass produce clones (i.e. identical plants) from a selected stock plant. Under aseptic conditions cultivated plant cells, tissues or organs can be artificially grown on a nutrient rich medium. This technique is particularly useful for producing exact copies of desirable plants that are free of diseases and pathogens.