Pearson Edexcel · GCSE · Biology
Course version: 1BI0 · Version from Sept 2016
4.9B Describe the process of tissue culture and its advantages in medical…
Full specification wording
Topic 4 – Natural selection and genetic modification: 4.9B Describe the process of tissue culture and its advantages in medical research and plant breeding programmes
Tissue culture grows new cells or whole organisms from small pieces of tissue taken from a parent.
Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 1BI0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 7 of 9
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
Tissue culture grows new cells or whole organisms from small pieces of tissue taken from a parent. The tissue sample is separated into small groups of cells and placed on a nutrient medium containing sugars, minerals and hormones, under sterile conditions, so the cells divide by mitosis and form a clone of the parent. In plant breeding this allows many identical plants with desirable features, such as disease resistance, to be produced quickly from one parent, even when the parent is rare. In medical research, cultured cells provide a controlled supply of identical cells for testing drugs or studying disease without using whole animals. A multiple-choice item may ask for a step in the process, the role of sterile conditions, or an advantage in either context, so connect each option to cloning by mitosis from a small tissue sample.
What earns the marks
- Tissue culture uses a small sample of tissue from a parent organism.
- Cells are placed on a nutrient medium with minerals, sugars and hormones under sterile conditions.
- The cells divide by mitosis to form a clone of the parent.
- In plant breeding it rapidly produces many identical plants with desirable characteristics from one parent.
- In medical research it supplies identical cells for drug testing or disease study in controlled conditions.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Thinking tissue culture involves sexual reproduction.
Put it right by stating that cells divide by mitosis to give genetically identical offspring.
Ignoring the need for sterile conditions.
Put it right by explaining that contamination by microorganisms would spoil the culture.
Assuming tissue culture mixes genes from two parents.
Put it right by noting it clones a single parent's tissue.
Exam tips
- Look for the word mitosis in options describing how cultured cells multiply.
- Match the option to the context named in the stem, either medical research or plant breeding.
- Reject options that describe fertilisation or combining gametes, since tissue culture is asexual.
Try the lesson
The start of the Topic 4 – Natural selection and genetic modification: 4.9B Describe the process of tissue culture and its advantages in medical research and plant breeding programmes lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
A laboratory uses tissue culture to produce many new plants from one parent plant. Which description matches the process of tissue culture?
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