Course Capsule: Introduction and history Of plant tissue culture; Techniques, equipment and media, In-vitro methods in plant tissue culture such as micropropagation, callus , suspension culture, meristem and organ culture, regeneration and morphogenesis, Role Of PGRs in plant tissue culture, Cryopreservation, Crop improvement techniques : haploid cultures, somaclonal variation, protoplast isolation, culture and fusion, embryo rescue cultures, Genetic transformation and production of transgenic plants. In-vitro production of secondary metabolites, Plant Cell Bioreactors, Current status Of the application Of tissue culture in Sri Lanka, Entrepreneurship in the 21st century, intellectual property protection for plants.
Course Aim: To teach In-vitro methods in plant tissue culture so that students would appreciate its applications in diverse fields such as agriculture and medicine, master the techniques in plant tissue culture, and learn legislation regarding GM plants, critically evaluate the current use Of tissue culture techniques in plants, as an income generating avenue in Sri Lanka. Course ILOs: At the end of the course the student should be able to explain the underlying principle and methods in plant tissue culture techniques in plants, as an income generating avenue in Sri Lanka.
Course ILOs: At the end of the course the student should be able to,
1. explain the underlying principle and methods in plant tissue culture
2. explain the role of different components of a tissue culture medium and the importance Of maintaining specific conditions
3. describe precisely the applicability Of tissue culture techniques in crop improvement
4. appreciate the possible contribution of tissue culture in pharmaceutical industry
5. utilize the knowledge and practical skills gained during the course to design a program to initiate an enterprise in plant propagation
6. produce plants to suit human desires but within the ethical framework