Totipotency

Latin: totus- entirely potens- having power

• The start of in vitro plant cell and tissue culture research is dated to
1902, when Gottlieb Haberlandt presented his hypothesis on the
intrinsic capability of isolated plant cells for autonomous life (
Haberlandt , 1902).
• The possibility of regenerating an entire plant from a single of few
non –zygotic cells.
• Totipotency is the ability of a cell to divide and produce all of the
differentiated cells of an organism.
• It is the genetic potential of the plant cell to produce the entire plant.
• The inherent potentiality of a plant cell to give rise to a whole plant is
described as cellular totipotency.
• This is a capacity which is retained even after a cell has undergone
final differentiation in the plant body.
• In plants, even highly mature and differentiated cells retain the ability
to regenerate to a meristematic state as long as they have an intact
membrane system and a viable nucleus.
• This is contradicting to animals, where differentiation is generally
irreversible.
• Isolated cells from differentiated tissue do not divide or are quiescent.
(inactive.dormant)
• For a differentiated cell, to express its totipotency, it first undergoes
dedifferentiation followed by redifferentiation.
• The phenomenon of a mature cell reverting to the meristematic state
and forming undifferentiated callus tissue is termed
‘dedifferentiation’.
• The phenomenon of conversion of component cells of callus tissue to
whole plant or plant organs is called as ‘redifferentiation’.
• The phenomenon of totipotency was demonstrated by F.C.Steward
and his associates in Cornell University , USA in 1950 who were
successful in growing carrot plants from isolated phloem cells.
• 2 mg slices of the carrot root were cut and small pieces of tissues
were taken from the phloem region.
• These were inoculated into a liquid nutrient medium containing
coconut water in special flasks, which were rotated slowly.
• The tissue grew actively and single cells and small cell aggregates
dissociated into the medium.
• Some of the cell clumps developed roots, and, when transferred to a
semi-solid medium, these rooted nodules formed shoots.
• These plants could be transferred to soil where they developed into
flowering plants.
• Phloem tissues taken from the roots of these plants could be used to
repeat the cycle
• Steward (1963) and Wetherall (1964) demonstrated the production of
thousands of somatic embryos formed from diploid vegetative cells of
carrot when plated on nutrient medium in petri-dishes.
• Totipotency is exhibited by plant tissues of
anther ,endosperm ,nucellus, embryo, root,shoot tips ,leaf,flower
buds and is employed for propagating plants through tissue culture.
• Each living somatic cell has the same genetic complement as the
zygote from which the plant develops and therefore has the
necessary genetic information for directing orderly development of
the cell into a matured plant.
• Cultures from tissues taken from different parts of the plant like
pith,cortex, cambium ,leaf parenchyma etc. grow readily under
aseptic condition in a nutrient medium composed of inorganic
ions,sucrose,vitamins,amino acid mixture and phytohormones.
• Growth in the enriched medium takes place by division and enlargement
of cells forming a large mass of undifferentiated cells known as callus.
• Under appropriate nutritional and environmental conditions these cell
aggregates or embryoids develop forming roots,shoots and finally
matured plants.
• Since the potential to develop and give rise to a mature plant lies mainly
in cellular differentiation this indicates that all genes responsible for
differentiation are present in individual cells while some of them may
remain inactive are able to express only under adequate culture
conditions
APPLICATIONS
i. It has potential applications in the crop plant improvement.
ii. Micro-propagation of commercially important plants.
iii. Production of artificial or synthetic seeds.
iv. It helps in conservation of germplasm (genetic resources).
v. This ability is utilized for haploid productions.
vi. Applied in producing somatic hybrids and cybrids.
vii. Helps in cultivation of those plants whose seeds are very minute and
difficult to germinate.
viii. Also helps to study the cytological and histological differentiations.
ix. For high scale and efficient production of secondary metabolites.
x. The genotypic modifications can also be possible.