Micropropagation is a widely used technique in plant tissue culture, which involves the rapid multiplication of plants through the culture of small tissue explants. This technique is commonly used in the mass production of disease-free and genetically identical plants. The steps involved in micropropagation are:

- Selection of suitable explant: A small piece of tissue, such as shoot tips, axillary buds, or meristematic regions, is selected as the explant.
- Sterilization: The explant is sterilized using disinfectants like sodium hypochlorite or alcohol to remove any surface contaminants.
- Culture initiation: The explant is transferred to a sterile culture medium containing nutrients and plant growth regulators, such as cytokinins and auxins.
- Shoot multiplication: The explant forms multiple shoots, which are then separated and subcultured onto fresh media to promote further shoot multiplication.
- Rooting: The multiplied shoots are transferred to a rooting medium containing auxins to induce root formation.
- Acclimatization: The rooted plantlets are gradually acclimatized to the external environment before transferring them to soil.


Somatic embryogenesis is a technique used to induce the development of embryos from somatic cells. It involves the following steps:

- Callus induction: Small pieces of plant tissue are cultured on a medium containing high auxin concentrations, which promotes the formation of a mass of undifferentiated cells called callus.
- Embryogenic callus induction: The callus is transferred to a medium supplemented with specific plant growth regulators to induce the formation of somatic embryos.
- Embryo maturation: The somatic embryos undergo maturation on a medium with reduced auxin levels and increased cytokinin levels.
- Germination: The mature somatic embryos are transferred to a medium with low auxin and cytokinin concentrations to promote germination and the development of plantlets.


Protoplast culture involves the isolation and culturing of plant cells that have had their cell walls removed. This technique allows for the study of cell behavior, genetic manipulation, and fusion of protoplasts from different species. The steps involved in protoplast culture are:

- Protoplast isolation: Plant cells are treated with enzymes to remove the cell wall, resulting in the release of protoplasts.
- Protoplast purification: The protoplasts are purified by centrifugation or density gradient centrifugation.
- Protoplast culture: The purified protoplasts are cultured in a suitable nutrient medium containing plant growth regulators to promote cell division and regeneration of cell walls.
- Protoplast fusion: Protoplasts from different species or varieties can be fused using chemical or electrical methods to produce hybrid cells with combined genetic traits.

These are some of the common plant tissue culture techniques and procedures that are important to understand for the UPSC Botany optional subject exam.