Szövetkultúrás

Szövetkultúrás is a Hungarian term that translates to "tissue culture" in English. It refers to a technique used in biology and plant science to grow cells, tissues, or organs in an artificial medium outside of their original organism. This method is crucial for various applications, including plant propagation, genetic engineering, and research into cell biology.

In plant tissue culture, small pieces of plant tissue, called explants, are sterilized and placed on a nutrient-rich agar gel. This medium typically contains sugars for energy, mineral salts, vitamins, and plant hormones that promote growth and differentiation. By controlling the composition of the medium, scientists can encourage the explants to form callus (undifferentiated cell masses), develop roots, shoots, or even complete plantlets.

The advantages of tissue culture are numerous. It allows for rapid multiplication of plants, especially those that are difficult to propagate by conventional methods. It also enables the production of disease-free plants, as the initial explants can be taken from healthy parent material. Furthermore, tissue culture is essential for genetic modification of plants and for preserving endangered species. Researchers use this technique to study plant development, stress responses, and to screen for desirable traits. The principles of tissue culture are also applied to animal cells, a practice known as animal cell culture, which is vital for pharmaceutical research, vaccine production, and understanding diseases.