REPORT ON FIELD TRIP

TO

Tissue culture laboratory

BY

Pynskhemlang Rani

S2000857

(GROUP B)

SUBMITTED TO

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY.

St. Anthony’s College, Shillong

May, 2023
Acknowledgement
I, Pynskhemlang Rani, would like to convey my sincere thanks to the Principal, Br.

Albert Longley Dkhar, St. Anthony’s College Shillong for giving us such an opportunity. I would

also like to thanks Dr. M.A. Laskar, Head Of the Department of Biotechnology for his support

and willingness to help us.

My sincere gratitude goes to Dr. V Manners in charge of the Tissue Culture Laboratory, Upper

Shillong, for giving their precious time and energy throughout our visits and for explaining us

about the different techniques and applications.

I am also grateful to Dr. Baphilinia J. Mylliemngap and Dr. Judith M. Lamo, Dr. C.

Sawian and Prof. Linu John for assisting and supporting us throughout the journey and also for

their love and care.

Contents
 Introduction
 Trip Objective
 Field Observation
 Conclusion
  Introduction
On 15 May 2023, 30 students along with 4 professors (Prof.(Dr.) C. Sawian, Prof.(Dr.) B.J Mylliemngap,
Prof. Linu John and Prof.(Dr.) Judith Lamo) went on a field trip to Tissue Culture laboratory, Upper
Shillong with an aim to visit the faculty of the respective placewhose scientists in charge was Dr. V
Manners. We arrived at our destination at 11 am. We planned to visit Tissue culture lab to understand their
field of work in conserving indigenous endangered species of orchids and other plants example, pitcher
plant through plant tissue culture.

Field Trip objective

The objective of the field trip was to get to know
more about tissue culture in details in terms of
how the faculty operates, to get exposure on
the different methods of conserving endangered
species by micro propagation, culturing and
so on.

Field Observation
We were guided on a tour of the place by a host
who explained in details about the different stages of plant tissue culture and the various facilities used in
cultivating plants in vitro and then exposing the plants to the external environment for further studies
before finally replacing them back to their natural habitat.
The host explained the following methods in brief due to time constraints;
1. Tissue culture laboratory and how the plants are propagated along with the preparation of media –
The media was first prepared before inoculation but the concentration differs for different plant
species for example in case of Nepenthus Khasiana half strength of MS(Murashige and Skoog)
media was used along with full strength of vitamins and organic compounds, sucrose was used as
the carbon source and the pH was maintained at 5.7 – 5.8 and the volume was made to 1L with
addition of 7.5g agar agar. After Autoclaving and sterilization the plant is inoculated into the
media. The plant lets are kept in an incubation chamber which is regulated at a temperature of 20-
25°C , photo period of 16-18 hours. Important part to keep in mind is the media has to be
renewed after 35-40 days to ensure healthy growth and no deficiency in nutrients.
Figure; Bottles containing agar and sucrose

Figure: Inoculated explant (A)and

incubation chamber (B).

(A) (B)

2. Hardening – After certain periods that is when the plants have developed shoots and roots it is
take out of the media and washed gently understand slow running tap water, this is to remove
excess media. This method is to ensure viability of the plant and they are kept on a tray for drying
before getting transferred to the most chamber.

Drying of plantlets on a tray

Figure: Washing of excess media

3. Mist chamber – After the plant lets have been acclimatize in the lab for 10 days they are brought
to the mist chamber which has automated control features for regulating humidity, temperature
and the duration varies form species to species. From the mist chamber the plants are transferred
to the green house to get exposed to the environment for characteristic development.

Figure: Mist Chamber

4. Greenhouse or net house – In the green house the soil for the plants is taken from the origin of
that particular species and autoclave for sterility. For example, Nepenthus khasiana uses sand and
soil (ratio 1:1) for propagation and in case of Dendrobium densiflorum uses leaf mould, sand and
soil (ratio1:1) for propagation hence, different from plants to plants.

(A) (B)

Figure: Dendrobium desiflorum (A) and N.khasiana (B)

5. Reintroduced to the natural habitat – After a period of 9 months to 1 year the plants are ready to
be removed from the greenhouse and reintroduced into their natural habitat like the forest and
these methods ensure 90% growth as compared to natural propagation.
 Figure: Greenhouse or Net house

Conclusion
Our trip ended about 12:30 pm. It can be concluded that the field trip was successful and our objective
was achieved. We learned something new which was beneficial for us. It was a well rounded trip
especially for us since we are from life science background.