The Tissue Culture or Tissue Culture is an advanced plant micropropagation technique that allows the reproduction of plants in a controlled and sterilized environment. Through this method, parts of a plant, such as cells or tissues, are isolated and cultivated in a special medium to develop new plants genetically identical to the original. Moreover, this technique is widely used in agriculture and horticulture to produce high-yield crops, disease-resistant and with enhanced characteristics. To learn more about Tissue Culture, here we leave you all the information.
What is Tissue Culture?
The Tissue Culture refers to the aseptic propagation method that enables the proliferation of plant cells, tissues, or organs under sterile conditions. Besides, this process is carried out in controlled laboratory conditions, allowing the development of complete plants from small tissue sections.
Origin of Tissue Culture
The origin of tissue culture dates back to 1885 when scientists like Wilhelm Roux, a German biologist, managed to keep chicken embryo cells alive for several days. However, it was the work of Gottlieb Haberlandt, in the early 20th century, that truly laid the foundations for plant tissue culture. Further, Haberlandt was the first to attempt to cultivate isolated plant cells in a nutritive medium, and although he was not successful at the time, his vision and experiments were crucial for the future development of the technique.
Later in 1910, a French surgeon improved this technique, defining tissue culture and establishing the technique. Over the years, the technique has evolved significantly, providing key contributions to research and plant biotechnology.
Finally, it was in the 1930s when tissue culture began to gain traction, thanks to the work of scientists like Philip R. White and Frederick Campion Steward. White managed to cultivate tomato roots in a culture medium, while Steward pioneered plant regeneration from individual cells.
Basic principles
The basic pillars of tissue culture include, among others:
- Sterilization: for an aseptic environment.
- Culture Medium: which provides the necessary nutrients for cell development.
- Environmental Conditions: such as light, temperature, and humidity must be well regulated.
Benefits in agriculture
The agricultural tissue culture provides multiple advantages, such as generating disease-free plants and large-scale production in reduced spaces. Indeed, this technique is essential in the propagation of cannabis varieties, where homogeneity and superior crop quality are sought.
Differences between Tissue Culture and Cloning
Plant Cloning | Tissue Culture | |
Process | Asexual reproduction method that involves taking a cutting from a mother plant and cultivating it to develop a new plant genetically identical to the mother plant. | Plant propagation technique that involves the cultivation of plant cells, tissues, or organs in a controlled culture medium to produce plants identical to the mother plant. |
Genetic | Maintains the same genetics as the mother plant. | Allows the production of genetically identical plants from selected cells or tissues. |
Efficiency | Relatively simple and widely used in plant propagation. | Requires specialized equipment and advanced technical knowledge, being more complex than traditional cloning. |
Multiplication | Produces exact copies of the mother plant. | Allows for rapid and efficient multiplication of plants in a controlled environment. |
Resistance | Cloned plants may inherit the resistance or weaknesses of the mother plant. | Can help to improve plant resistance to diseases and environmental stress by selecting healthy and vigorous tissues for propagation. |
Uses in cannabis
Concerning the cannabis industry, plant micropropagation through tissue culture presents a revolutionary opportunity to standardize and optimize production. Reproduction through tissue culture allows producers to create a large number of identical cannabis clones from the same mother plant, ensuring homogeneity and consistent quality in their harvests. Additionally, this technique can contribute to the conservation of rare strains and the creation of new varieties with desirable characteristics. Some of the applications are as follows:
Clonal propagation
Tissue culture allows for the clonal propagation of cannabis plants with great efficiency. Using just a fragment of tissue from the mother plant, multiple identical clones can be produced. In addition, this technique is crucial for maintaining consistency in strains with desirable characteristics such as potency, terpene profile, or disease resistance. The resulting clones are pathogen-free, which offers a significant advantage over traditional cloning.
Conservation of genetics
Conserving genetics is vital to protect the diversity and genetic heritage of cannabis. In fact, Tissue Culture enables the long-term preservation of unique genotypes, keeping the genetics pure and unchanged for years. This is achieved through cryopreservation, where tissue samples are stored at extremely low temperatures, virtually halting all biological processes.
Genetic improvement and variety selection
Tissue culture plays a fundamental role in genetic improvement and variety selection. It allows researchers and breeders to develop plants with specific traits, increasing the quality and efficiency of their selections. For example, they can isolate strains with higher disease resistance or with higher levels of cannabinoids such as THC or CBD, accelerating the improvement process and achieving variations within the species that benefit the consumer and the industry. The technique opens doors to the exploration of new genetic combinations, thus contributing to the diversity and customization of the final product.

Specific advantages for cannabis
The specific advantages of tissue culture for cannabis include:
- Efficient and reliable propagation: numerous plants can be obtained from a small tissue fragment, economizing space and resources.
- Greater health: the resulting plants are usually free of pathogens and diseases, since the procedure is carried out in sterile environments.
- Conservation of genetic quality: to preserve and multiply rare or high-value genetics without genetic variability.
- Speed of production: which accelerates the availability of plants for the market, being particularly beneficial amid growing demand.
How to perform Tissue Culture
Tissue culture in cannabis, as in any other biotechnological application, requires specialized equipment and precise procedures to ensure the success and efficiency of the process.
Essential equipment
Among some of the necessary materials for carrying out are the following:
- Laminar flow chamber: a sterile workspace is crucial to prevent contamination of the samples. The laminar flow chamber provides a clean area, thanks to a constant flow of filtered air.
- Autoclave: this equipment is used to sterilize tools, culture media, and other materials, ensuring an environment free of pathogenic microorganisms.
- Microscope: to observe and evaluate the state of cells and tissues in culture, allowing precise adjustments in the process if necessary.
- Incubators and growth chambers: provide the controlled environmental conditions necessary for optimal tissue growth, including temperature, humidity, and light.
Tissue Culture with the Tissue Culture Kit
The Tissue Culture Kit Athena is a complete kit that makes it easy for growers of any level to perform tissue culture. This system not only allows the preservation and improvement of genetics, eliminating infections like HLV, but also offers the flexibility to root plants at convenience, granting total control over strain conservation. Also, it includes all the necessary tools, such as an autoclave and a laminar flow hood, along with a step-by-step work map to guide users.

It stands out for its Athena Roots Culture Media and “Shoots” formulas, designed to promote healthy growth of roots and seedlings by just adding water, thus ensuring a simplified and effective process. This kit promises a sterile and controlled environment for tissue culture, representing a significant advancement in cannabis cultivation and genetic preservation.
Procedures for performing Tissue Culture
The steps to follow are as follows:
- Selection and preparation of the mother plant: the process begins with the careful selection of the mother plant, which must be free of diseases and display the desired characteristics. A small tissue sample is taken, usually from the tip of a shoot or a young leaf.
- Initiation of culture: The sample is placed in a sterile culture medium, which provides the necessary nutrients and hormones for growth. This step is crucial for establishing a healthy and viable culture.
- Multiplication: Once the culture has been established, small portions can be taken and transferred to new culture media to start the multiplication phase, where large quantities of identical plants are produced.
- Rooting: After multiplication, tissues are moved to a culture medium that promotes root development, preparing them for transition to soil or another cultivation substrate.
- Acclimatization: Before being transplanted to their final growth environment, plants must go through a period of acclimatization to adapt to outdoor conditions and reduce transplant stress.
Thus, Tissue Culture can be performed simply and effectively, achieving plant cloning identical to the original.