6.4.4 Uses of Plant Cloning Flashcards
(2 cards)
What are the advantages of plant cloning?
All the plants have the same genotype and hence phenotype
The plants produced are free of disease
The plants can be genetically modified to confer immunity to certain diseases
Genetic modification enables growers to ensure that plants carry very distinct characteristics
The process is rapid and can yield large numbers of new plants
The small plants that are produced can be transported easily to other sites
Plants that are difficult to grow from their seeds can be produced by plant cloning
Plants can be grown in any country, in any season
Rare and endangered species can be propagated to save them from extinction
Whole plants can be created from genetically modified cells/tissues
The use of cultivars prevents the risk of F1 hybrids that occur when plants are crossed and grown from seeds, so the products are more uniform
What are the disadvantages of plant cloning?
It is an expensive and labour-intensive process
The process is susceptible to microbial contamination
There is no genetic variation, so all of the offspring are susceptible to the same diseases or other environmental factors
This risks large-scale loss of a country’s / continent’s crop of a particular plant, so a range of cultivars is recommended
New plants have to be carefully screened for abnormalities that could lead to the new plants being infected
There is a risk of an unexpected secondary metabolic chemical reaction that could cause stunted growth or even death in the new explants
