Tissue Culture, Micropropagation, Somaclonal Variation - Unsolved Practice Set
Chapter: Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production | Topic: Tissue Culture Micropropagation Somaclonal Variation
TISSUE CULTURE, MICROPROPAGATION, SOMACLONAL VARIATION - UNSOLVED PRACTICE SET
Topic: Tissue Culture Micropropagation Somaclonal Variation
Multiple Choice Questions
Q1. Plant tissue culture is based on the concept of:
- Mutation
- Totipotency (the ability of a plant cell to regenerate a whole plant)
- Hybridisation
- Natural selection
Q2. Micropropagation refers to the technique of:
- Producing large numbers of genetically identical plantlets from a small piece of plant tissue, using tissue culture
- Crossing two different plant species
- Exposing plants to radiation
- Growing plants only in soil
Q3. Plants produced through micropropagation are generally:
- Genetically identical to the parent plant (clones)
- Always genetically different from the parent plant
- Sterile and unable to grow further
- Produced only through seeds
Q4. Somaclonal variation refers to:
- The complete absence of genetic variation in tissue-cultured plants
- Genetic variation that arises among plants regenerated through tissue culture
- Variation caused only by cross-pollination
- Variation seen only in animal cells
Q5. One major advantage of micropropagation in agriculture is that it allows for:
- Slower plant multiplication than traditional methods
- Rapid, large-scale production of disease-free, genetically uniform plants
- Production of only diseased plants
- No commercial application at all
Short Answer Questions
Q6. What is totipotency, and how is it relevant to plant tissue culture?
Q7. Define micropropagation, and mention one of its key advantages for commercial plant production.
Q8. What is somaclonal variation, and how does it arise in tissue-cultured plants?
Q9. Why are micropropagated plants generally preferred for producing disease-free planting material?
Long Answer Questions
Q10. Describe the process and principle of plant tissue culture, explaining how a small piece of plant tissue can be used to regenerate a whole new plant.
Q11. Discuss the applications and advantages of micropropagation in agriculture and horticulture, mentioning how it differs from traditional methods of plant propagation.
APPLICATION / ANALYSIS
Q12. A nursery wants to rapidly multiply a particularly valuable, disease-free banana variety for commercial sale, without waiting for slow, traditional propagation methods. Explain how micropropagation could help the nursery achieve this goal efficiently.
Q13. During large-scale micropropagation of a crop, researchers occasionally notice a few plantlets showing slightly different characteristics from the rest of the genetically identical batch. Using your understanding of somaclonal variation, explain a possible reason for this unexpected difference.