Give the meaning of the following terms.

(a) Explant
(b) Totipotency
(c) Somaclones
(d) Somatic hybrids
(e) Micropropagation.

Explanation

(a) Any part of a plant taken out and grown in a test tube under sterile conditions in special nutrient media is called explant.
(b) The capacity to generate a whole plant from any cell/ex plant is called totipotency.
(c) Plants which are genetically identical to the original plant from which they are grown are called somaclones.
(d) Isolated protoplasts from two different varieties of plants each having a desirable character can be fused to get hybrid protoplasts, which can be further grown to form a new plant These hybrids are called somatic hybrids.
(e) Producing thousands of plants through tissue culture is called micropropagation.