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A Typical Radio DayA typical radio day for me usually involves several different aspects of the radio hobby. Granted, I may include things others would not strictly call radio, but for me anything associated with the radio hobby is fair game! Sometimes this can be something as mundane as logging contacts, or checking for QSLs (confirmed contacts with other radio operators or stations), or it can be as exciting as putting some test equipment to work checking circuits or measuring frequency response. For me anything connected with radio in almost any form is interesting. A typical day (or portion thereof) might involve listening04/04/2016
Expanding HorizonsOne of the best things about the Internet is the ability to tap into a vast supply of knowledge available from a multitude of sources. When it comes to the radio hobby there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of sites with potentially useful information. I cannot claim to have visited them all, or even a measly 1% in all likelihood. But I have found some useful links (available on my Interesting Links and Books page) along the way, and two in particular I would like to highlight. Regular readers of this blog will recognize The SWLing Post Blog03/19/2016
A Shortwave Radio for the CarTonight on Allan Weiner Worldwide (WBCQ 7490 kHz coming in beautifully on my FRG-7) Allan mentioned a shortwave radio converter for car radios. The package uses a small box which plugs into the cigarette lighter socket and can either use an antenna made for the converter or an antenna supplied by the user. The unit can display frequencies through the FM RDS display, and has a key-fob controller for scanning and saving stations into memory. Here are some of the features listed by the manufacturer: FEATURES OF THE BST-1 Excellent sensitivity – 0.5 microvolt at the antenna connector will stop03/11/2016
A Lifetime of Amateur RadioI just read an online story about a Cleveland man who has been a ham since World War II and is still going strong. Jack Goldfarb, W8WGO, lives in University Heights, Ohio and has been a licensed amateur radio operator since 1941. He still uses a Morse Code key he has had for 70 years! His story is well worth the read and may be found here. UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Jack Goldfarb is what's known as an amateur radio operator. It's a shame he's stuck with that descriptive handle for ham radio enthusiasts because, after one has done what03/10/2016
How Hard Are You Willing To Work?For some reason I have never been much into FM DXing, and I am not sure why. The best answer I can come up with is the FM signal, because it is so much higher in the RF band, never has a chance to travel very far even with the best of conditions. Of course I am not referring to special propagation conditions like ducting or the like, but just day-to-day listening opportunities. I am an "AM man" through and through. To be fair, I have never given FM DXing much of a chance because usually the best DX you03/09/2016
RagchewingRagchewing is a great part of the amateur radio hobby which seems at times to be fading away. With so many contests and special event stations and pileups for DX stations, it is easy to get in the "quick in, quick out" mode without really enjoying a vital part of the hobby. I was fortunate to have two extended conversations today (the only two contacts I made), one for an just under an hour and the other for about 20 minutes. The longer of the two was with a ham in Vermont, and we talked about everything from radios and02/29/2016
Radio Romania InternationalI had an enjoyable experience on the radio this evening as I caught part of a broadcast from Radio Romania International on 6020 khz ~04:30 UTC. They were reading letters and emails from folks around the world giving reception reports and general comments concerning their love of shortwave radio. I was thrilled to hear these comments of course, but what really intrigued me was the sentiments expressed were almost universal. By this I mean the people writing about their love of radio came from every part of the globe, and from very different backgrounds, but all had the same appreciation02/23/2016
TEN-TEC 1253 Regenerative Radio BuildThis build review of the TEN-TEC 1253 comes from an article I wrote some years ago for Monitoring Times. This was quite an interesting project to build, as it was my first real radio kit. I tried to take my time (unlike the model airplanes I built as a kid which always ended up with missing parts and "extra" glue - or was that extra parts and missing glue?!) in an effort to really understand the building stages. My reward was a radio which worked great from the start, and which will always hold a near and dear place in02/16/2016
WWII Promotional Piece for HallicraftersHere's an interesting 15 min. video demonstrating the Army Signal Corps using an Hallicrafters SCR-299. While certainly a promotional piece for Hallicrafters, this has great footage and captures a bit of the excitement of radio expanding into new frontiers. There is a discussion of how the radio was modified for military conditions as well as some innovations which were implemented to make such a system mobile. I think what intrigues me most about these types of pieces is the sense of a common purpose -- the nation was at war and everyone was pitching in. Yes, Hallicrafters was a business02/05/2016
Not Quite Radio Related, But Cool Anyway!A Robot which solves Rubik's Cube While not directly radio related, this was too amazing not to share (so forgive me in advance! There is an Arduino involved, if that helps?!) The video above is of a robot which can solve Rubik's Cube in about 1 second. I will not embarrass myself in telling how long it takes me to solve it . . . . It is, however, easy to see how radio hobbyists could find these Arduino boards quite intriguing! 73, Robert 01/29/2016
A Restoration ProjectAs a kid I tried to learn about electronics the old fashioned way - tear something apart and try to put it back together. Unfortunately I did not have someone overseeing my explorations, and so very little was actually learned! If amateur and shortwave radio itself is an attempt to recapture something I really enjoyed when I was young, tinkering with electronics is even more so a fulfillment of something I sought as a child. Electronics, as it applies to the radio hobby, is almost as magical as the signals these radios receive. Antennas grab signals as they course through01/17/2016
A Review of Multipsk SoftwareMultipsk Software - A Review Here is a link to a review of the digital mode software MultiPsk (~3.5 meg PDF file) which I wrote for The Spectrum Monitor published in the September 2015 issue. I highly recommend either the free or the registered version of this software because it can decode almost anything on the airwaves. The registered version is about $45 as I recall, and it is the best money I have ever spent for software, and I have been around computers and software for a long time!! The free version will do a lot, in fact much01/11/2016
I Would Have Written this Yesterday, But . . .I find it amazing sometimes how dependent we have become on the Internet. I have been involved with computers since around 1981, and with the Internet almost since its beginnings (no, I did not invent it, nor was I acquainted with Al Gore at the time!). I remember downloads taking about an hour for 800K, and that was considered rather fast for the time. Imagine if we had to wait that long today?! I recently upgraded service to another company which gives me 50 Mbs, or about 6 megs/second download speeds where possible. That's 360 megs per minute as01/07/2016
A Fascinating Interview with Bob HeilEric over at QSO Today has posted an interview with Bob Heil K9EID, the genius behind Heil Sound microphones for both amateur and professional audio use. The interview is really Bob just talking about how he got into amateur radio, how his amateur radio background influenced his incredible career(s), and how amateur radio really needs BUILDERS and ELMERS! I found the whole thing fascinating as well as motivating. I could almost say it was life-changing, but maybe that is just me. Anyway, I hope you give a listen. Here is the info from the QSO Today site: Bob Heil, K9EID,12/28/2015
An Eclectic Christmas MorningAs I sit here listening to radio broadcasts from around the world on Free-to-Air Satellite I am reminded again of the great gift that is Radio. If you will forgive a little bit of personal nostalgia, radio has been for me a true gift, ever since I was a boy. I will not go into my past too much (we all have our stories), but when I was 8 years old I got my first radio on Christmas. It was a General Electric clock radio with a big AM dial, circa. the late 1960s. I spent many, many hours seeking12/25/2015
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and a safe and enriching New Year! All the best of Radio in the coming new year as well, and thank you for being a meaningful part of this blog! 73, Robert 12/23/2015
Radio Martí Bothers Raul CastroIt is time once again for an update on how shortwave is ruining the hopes and dreams of oppressive governments everywhere! As many folks have heard by now the U.S. is in talks to "normalize" (whatever that is) relations with Cuba. Embassies have been reopened, limited travel for "education" purposes has been approved, and no doubt a myriad of "behind the scenes" negotiations are taking place, including free Cuban cigars for all of Congress. (Okay that last part is speculation, but come on, wouldn't you want that on the bargaining table too?!) One other issue on the bargaining table is12/22/2015
Arduino or Raspberry Pi?There was a short article in the Make Newsletter yesterday about how to decide if you need Arduino or Raspberry Pi, and I thought it might be interesting to others as well. The basic question is "How much computer processing do I need?" In very simplified terms, an Arduino micro controller is good at running one or two tasks - they use the illustration of monitoring a moisture probe to determine if your plants need watering. The Arduino could be programmed to check moisture content and send a Tweet to let you know it's time to water the plants. The12/09/2015
Ahoy, Mateys! Pirate ActivitySome days you just miss the boat, er . . . ship, pirate ship that is! I apparently missed a lot of pirate ships this week according to the email newsletter report I get each week on pirate activity. Who would have thought the Thanksgiving holiday would have brought out so many pirates?! Maybe it was the anticipation of "Black Friday" with all the plundering and pillaging going on, reminiscent of Blackbeard and Black Bart! Whatever the reason, activity was unusually high, and I am sorry to have missed it. Here is a listing as recorded by the Free Radio12/06/2015
Time For Some Kit Building!Winter always brings thoughts of kit building for me as cold weather, a hot soldering gun, and a bag full of parts make for an enjoyable evening. A friend of mine, Ryan W1RYN, sent me information about a great aircraft monitoring receiver kit which can be built just as a board, or assembled into a metal case. The assembled kit in the case may be found here, but the same company sells the kit in multiple configurations. Here are two images of the completed kit with the case: I have ordered the parts kit and the enclosure, and I11/25/2015
The Thrill of DiscoveryI have been watching some satellite feeds over FTA or Free-to Air satellite networks, and I must say it is very exciting. As readers of this blog know I have a real passion for capturing anything which comes through the air, and satellite TV and satellite radio are really just extensions of shortwave and longwave radio. After all, satellites dishes are antennas too!! I should clarify what FTA services are: they are truly free (and legal) satellite channels broadcasting a range of news, sports, music, culture, and entertainment programming from various international sources. While there are domestic stations which one11/12/2015
On the Lighter SideHere's a little "ham" humor on the lighter side of life! (Collected from around the web and from old publications) Stealth Mode Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent. Since they were a perfect match, soon they generated harmonics. Wrapped the harmonics in dipoles. But later the harmonics turned out to be parasitic elements.... EINSTEIN ON RADIO "I am often asked how radio works. Well, you see, wire telegraphy11/05/2015
What Would our World Look Like if . . .I wonder what our world would look like if we had maintained the mindset of our early forefathers who fought so hard for freedom? Of course I know even then the soon-to-be-formed nation was split almost down the middle over whether to revolt against the King or try to work within the system. I am glad for the choices they made, but feel more than a bit let down by our handling of such a great inheritance. Since this is a radio blog I will not get into politics (or history), except to say our modern culture's willingness to give11/04/2015
Pirate Radio at its Best!Last night was Halloween which means Pirate Radio broadcasters are typically very active on shortwave radio, particularly between 6925 kHz and 6995 kHz. While I did not see a whole lot of activity, what was there was some of the best Pirate broadcasting I have ever heard. X-FM Radio was broadcasting on 6975 from "somewhere under the stars", and their slogan is "Music to the Power of X." They were broadcasting in stereo which gave a fuller sound, but I am sure it would have sounded better if I had AM stereo capability. Here are two snippets of audio recorded11/01/2015
The Battery DilemmaSo many things run on batteries these days one could almost set aside a room in the house just for chargers and spare battery packs. I am exaggerating of course--a walk-in closet would do nicely. Most HTs run on Ni-Cad or NiMH batteries, while smaller devices often run on Li-Ion batteries. I hate them all. I hate wall-warts, I hate keeping track of the various chemical compositions of batteries to make sure I do not put them into the wrong charger, and I hate that we have sacrificed power for size. Remember the good old days when a radio could10/29/2015
All Things Radio on VOA!I was surprised and honored when Kim Andrew Elliot contacted me about mentioning this blog on the weekly Voice of America (VOA) Radiogram with regard to my recent post about Russia's attempt to shut down the Internet. The VOA Radiogram has been an ongoing experiment in sending digital mode text and images using the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina. The idea behind this is to have a backup means of getting emergency communications out around the world to folks who might not be able to receive voice transmissions during difficult propagation times. The digital modes can be10/25/2015
Russia Tests Internet ShutdownReaders of this blog will know I am keenly interested in promoting shortwave radio as both an important information source and a means of defense against government-controlled media access. A recent report in the British publication The Telegraph revealed there have been several tests run by the Russian government to see if the Internet could be shut down should a political need arise. This should not really come as a surprise since China has done the same thing in the past, but it does point once again to the limits of any system dependent on wires. I realize the majority10/21/2015
There's a Hole in the Sun!The auroral activity and geomagnetic storm activity continues this week as the sun has developed a coronal hole. This giant hole is allowing solar winds to be sent hurtling our way, with a large enough stream scientists are predicting we may be in for a week of heightened geomagnetic activity. An image from our solar observation posts shows the hole, with the superimposed white arrows showing normal solar wind activity and the breaks, or hole, which will allow the winds to come our way. Normally the sun's activities cause the solar winds to bend back down on themselves as the10/15/2015
Heathkit is Back, Baby!Thanks to a blog posting over at SWLing.com I just found out Heathkit is back and about to release their first build-it-yourself kit, with the promise of many more to come. Heathkit, for those who may not be familiar with the name, was a legendary producer of kit radios (and TVs, and even computers) long ago. As great as the kits were, the instruction manuals were like an electronics course in themselves. While I missed out on that experience during my misspent youth, I have often thought I might someday buy an assembled radio from that time and pair it10/08/2015
Russia and the InternetAt the risk of sounding redundant, another article about Internet control has motivated me to once again emphasize the importance of shortwave radio. An article at ECN magazine gives an excellent report about Russia's attempts to control the flow of information available to Russian citizens. While I will not reproduce the whole article here, I will highlight a few of the more salient points, and encourage you to read the full article entitled, "Kremlin Sets Out To Extend Control Over The Russian Internet" available here. ------ Galina Timchenko recalls how proud she felt when the Russian news website she edited10/07/2015
Aurora ActivityHere is a post from the great Spaceweather.com site talking about current aurora activity which might produce unsettled RF conditions. This can also mean some unusual propagation opportunities could exist for extended HF and VHF due to high ionization of the upper atmosphere. While such activity makes most HF listening difficult, sometimes 10 meters and above actually open up, however erratically, and contacts can be made that would not normally be possible. If using some of the digital modes such as weak-signal modes, even more contacts can be logged. Might be worth a try . . . . "URBAN AURORAS"10/07/2015
Skill Comes in All Different FormsAs I look around my shack I find it interesting the many different radios and facets of the hobby represented here, and I admit I have a rather modest shack. It occurred to me there is a lot of knowledge (and much more to learn) involved in operating these radios and associated equipment. Often modern hams are accused of being mere "appliance" operators because we do not build our radios from scratch. I would love to build a radio from scratch, and if I could afford it, I would find a Heathkit radio still in the box and build it.10/06/2015
Aircraft Communication in 1915I found this interesting post from Scientific American concerning the lack of reliable wireless communication in aircraft in 1915 - just one of those fascinating historical tidbits: Aircraft Communication, 1915 By Dan Schlenoff| September 25, 2015 A French communication system for use by airplane pilots in 1915: black powder could be puffed out into a Morse code message. Image: Scientific American, September 25, 1915 Considering how flying, even in the earliest years of the era of flight, seems high-tech, and despite the fact that the first trans-Atlantic wireless message was sent in 1901, it is curious to see flying10/02/2015
Utility and Aircraft Monitoring Modern Style!I have been into computers for a long, long time. I will resist the urge to regale you with tales of computer exploits back in "the good old days" of DOS, Amiga, and even earlier days with my TI-99 /4A with cassette deck. Over the years I have used and abused some really excellent software, and there have certainly been programs which stood out from the crowd and made you simply say "Wow!" So with all this experience you can imagine not many programs cause me to turn my head, drop my jaw, or gush over their capabilities. In the09/26/2015
BBC Looking To Increase Russian PresenceBBC Looking To Increase Russian Presence This is an excellent article posted by Kim Andrew Elliott concerning the BBC's desire to expand its reach into Russia. The full article is available at: USC Center on Public Diplomacy and it discusses in more detail the issues of maintaining an Internet presence and the challenges of Satellite broadcasts. The excerpt posted here is a good discussion on the improved reliability of shortwave radio to provide low-cost and reliable communications for those in Russia, and enhanced opportunities for those with computers able to run one of the many free digital mode programs available.09/20/2015
More Wallpaper!I just received a beautiful certificate from the ISS Fan Club site (www.issfanclub.com) confirming my reception of SSTV images during the July 2015 celebration of the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975. While my images were not as good as I would have hoped (local conditions were a bit iffy), I was thrilled to get them nevertheless. I also received SSTV images back in April celebrating Yuri Gagarin's mission into space, and believe me I could hardly contain myself. I am not sure what that says about me, except perhaps I am still just a kid at heart, but I'll take it!09/17/2015
See, I Told You: Shortwave Radio Matters!See, I Told You: Shortwave Radio Matters! Forgive the tongue-in-cheek title, but I just could not resist. There was an excellent article in the DailyNK published online from Seoul, Korea entitled Radio broadcasts an 'eye-opening' experience for N. Koreans. The article discusses the impact radio broadcasts into North Korea have had on some of the people, particularly those who have made their way into South Korea. The article notes: The authorities require all radio sets to be fixed to Pyongyang's central broadcast frequency -- a clear sign of state efforts made to block all means of communication. State-run media focus09/10/2015
The Enigma Event — Radio with a History!I am fascinated by the history of radio and its significance to events in the world, particularly as it relates to WWII. I confess to being somewhat envious of those teens who were called into active civilian duty as Radio Monitors. Some time back I heard an actual Public Service message as it had been broadcast during the war years recruiting boys 12 years and up for monitoring service. (An excellent Internet streaming broadcast is the UK 1940s Radio Station - they play music and programs of the era, as well as actual speeches and Public Service messages, and even09/07/2015
There's Always Something On Worth Listening ToThere is always something on worth listening to, at least in my experience. Looking at my Solar Data widget all the bands are listed in red as being closed or in poor condition right now due to a mild geomagnetic storm. The K Index is 5, and the solar winds are a bit active, coming close to 500. I turned my scanner on (since they are mostly local and higher frequencies are less affected by solar activity), but I got curious about the HF bands. I first tuned in with a small portable, and there wasn't much coming in. Based09/04/2015
Every Radio is an Adventure!Every Radio is an Adventure! Talking with a friend of mine Rod (KJ4IAM) tonight about radios, he made an insightful comment. He said whenever he listens to a new radio, regardless of how simple or complex the radio, it is like hearing the world from a different angle. I was struck by that comment because I believe it may be why those of us enamored by radio seem to always have room for "one more" in the old radio arsenal. I just recently purchased an inexpensive portable by Tecsun mainly because of the price and reputation of the radio. It's08/29/2015
Another Golden Age of RadioAnother "Golden Age" of Radio? I will be the first to say I regret terribly missing out on the 60s and 70s era of radio, not only for the stories I hear told about the propagation conditions, but also on the ability to build kits and work with some of those now-classic radios. Since boat anchors are still plentiful I can recapture a bit of that time, but of course I did not live through it as an amateur radio operator. Perhaps I am the eternal optimist when it comes to radio, but in many ways I feel as though08/23/2015
How Do You Measure Shortwave Radio?How Do You Measure Shortwave Radio? I continue to ponder this question as I believe Shortwave Radio is an area which defies traditional measurement. I have included some thoughts I wrote last year for an article published in antenneX magazine: I was very disappointed . . . in the U.S. for cutting back VOA service to a number of countries. Australia is another country who has made drastic cuts to its shortwave schedule, as well as the BBC, much to the consternation of the SWL community. The economic debate surrounding shortwave radio will continue for a long time, and I08/11/2015
Radio in Space in the News!There have been several interesting radio articles in the news lately, and I find that heart-warming to say the least! And since a couple of articles dealt with radio in space, I was particularly excited, and a bit jealous! I just saw a post in the British News about a local ham who made contact with the International Space Station for approximately 50 seconds (lucky devil!). The articles can be found here. I appreciate the fact that his station is a typical one, being described as a "garden shed." Like this gentleman I have been trying hard for several weeks08/07/2015
It's All About The MagicThe Radio hobby draws folks from many different backgrounds and interests, but I have found some things I believe most hobbyists hold in common. Foremost is a fascination with radio and the magic it represents. This is what first drew me in as a young boy. Radio seemed like magic because I could turn a dial and suddenly music was playing, or someone was telling a story or I was hearing news from around the world. TV never held such fascination for me, but I cannot explain why. But radio! Wow! The thought that there were signals floating through the07/26/2015
More Space News from the HomefrontThis weekend was a special event for the ISS with transmissions of SSTV images commemorating Apollo and Soyuz missions 40 years ago. Having successfully received images from the Russian celebration of Yuri Gagarin some months back I had great anticipation for this event. As luck would have it, several things went wrong, but several things went right, so it all balanced out. First, what went wrong. The best flyover for me produced no images because there was no audio accompanying the carrier. The carrier was strong, but no SSTV modulation. Bummer! Those would have been some great images! Second thing07/20/2015
On the Importance of Shortwave RadioWarning: Recurring Theme! Shortwave Radio is a topic about which I am passionate, both as a listener and as an advocate. There are a lot of crazy things going on in the world along with numerous boneheaded decisions made by governments daily, but cutting funding for shortwave radio has to be right near the top. Why do I say this? Because radio has been, is, and likely always will be one of the only sure means of getting out information to the world which cannot be censored easily. Obviously a repressive regime running a national shortwave radio station can control07/11/2015
Inaugural Post From Space!Welcome to my new blog on All Things Radio. I thought it fitting to write about my recent International Space Station reception and recording as my first entry into the blogosphere. For the last few weeks I have been setting up my dual-band Kenwood radio to send and receive APRS data using the ISS beaconing system. For those who may not be aware, APRS is a digital mode which uses either a computer or a TNC (terminal node controller - a type of modem) to send information between amateur radio operators. It can be used for location services, messaging, information,07/09/2015


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This kit is designed for support workers and advocates who assist people affected by family violence. The purpose of the kit is to help people in rental housing to know their rights, have a secure home and limit any financial loss.
The law
- Residential Tenancies Act 1997 [AustLII website]
is the main legislation for rental housing in Victoria.
- Family Violence Protection Act 2008 [AustLII website]
is legislation for family violence in Victoria.
- Personal Safety Intervention Order Act 2010 [AustLII website]
is legislation for intervention orders when the perpetrator is not a family member.
The jargon
- affected person: the person who has been affected by family violence
- protected person: how the person who has been affected by family violence is referred to in the intervention order
- perpetrator: the person who committed family violence
- respondent: how the person who committed family violence is referred to in the intervention order
- excluded tenant: how the person who committed family violence is referred to in VCAT applications if they are excluded from the rental property in an intervention order
- intervention order: a court order to protect the affected person from the perpetrator
- exclusion condition: part of an intervention order to stop the perpetrator going to a specific place (e.g. the rented home)
- fixed-term lease: a tenancy agreement for an agreed period such as 12 months. Note: Most tenancies begin with a fixed term. When the fixed term is over, the lease automatically continues as a periodic agreement unless someone ends the agreement or a new fixed-term lease is signed
- periodic-lease: a tenancy agreement with no end date that continues until someone ends the agreement. Note: Most periodic leases are month-to-month but they can also be week-to-week
- VCAT: Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
Need more help with this?
Don't hesitate to contact us here.
Thanks for your feedback.

subset: commoncrawl


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Felt Boards. Oh- how I love you! They are like my own 3D cozy squares of wisdom. They can be snarky, silly, personal or uplifting- and man! They look so darn cute!
My love for these felty real world Pinboards has of course worked it's way into one of my favorite designs, Shiplap Style because they can capture a sentiment in such a unique and simple way- letting the beauty of the words stand out on their own- take a look at what I mean:
Now truth be told there are a few tricks to using these boards in a stress free way– and I thought I'd take a minute to share them with you here today!
1. The Felt Board: Of course, you need a felt letterboard. And truth be told- they can be pretty pricey. I snagged this one on Ebay. It's 10×10 and was advertised as having a defect- so it sold for about $16.00- but happily- I still haven't found it! The downside of the Ebay one was that no letters were included, so if I had to do it again, I would get it from Amazon (linked above) with letters. I have this one in the front entrance of my home- and tend to put more inspirational quotes on it. One tip I use to clean off any dust or specks that may fall on it is using a fabric lint roller on it when it's blank and before I change the sayings.
I got this second one for my kitchen from AC Moore Craft Store. It's an American Crafts Letterboard– which you can get on Amazon and you can find it almost all Craft Stores. What I love about that one is that it's not really felt- it's plastic. When you think about it- plastic makes more sense in the kitchen because it's super easy to clean the kind of yuk that accumulates in that room. Since the kitchen is where we tend to hang out as a family and goof around- this one is usually filled with more wit and snark. The kids get a kick out of finding a new saying on it each week!
2. Herd those Kittens. Now- at first, I had all my letters in a Jar- and would spread them out on the table and hunt for the right ones to use. It took about 20 minutes to do the boards- and was a little frustrating when I would realize I didn't have enough letters to say what I wanted- after completing 80% of the board.
So- I got an organizer box from Amazon for about 10 dollars and gave my little guy a plate of cookies to separate the letters into the boxes. Now I can grab letters easily, see when I am running low on one and life is good.
3. Set your ducks in a row! And by ducks- I mean letters. It's a no brainer I wanted to make my boards pretty. And when things are way off center- it bugs me. I don't want to grab a ruler and level when I play with my boards (buzz kill!) – but I also don't want wonky off centered ones either. My work around? I measure the halfway point on each side and put a tiny pencil mark. When I line up may sayings I cross 2 pieces of twine as guides- and I'm always happy with the results!
4. Copy shamelessly. Finally, to arm myself against writers block- I have a Pinboard of my favorite felt board quotes and ideas. Yah- it's blatant cut and paste- but no one in my family is on Pinterest – so they think I am awesome at this!
As for the felt leaves and acorns? – I found them here on Etsy. I also use brads and other pretties from my scrap stash with paperclips bent over.
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Meet Robby Reed, a boy genius who discovered a mysterious dial. Upon dialing the word "BLOG" into it, Robby found himself transformed into a blog. From then on, whenever he redials, a new post appears on the blog. Thus began the saga of Dial B For Blog!
In reality, the blog was created by Kirk Kimball, a graphic artist who grew up a comic book fan ever since reading the Action Comics story, Luthor's First Victory Over Superman! He was especially captivated by the in-house advertisement for The Strange Death of Batman! from Detective Comics. He has since been impressed by Spider-Man saving himself with no one and nothing to help him, and personally witnessed Neal Adams doing sketches with nothing but raw talent the first time he attended a comics convention. It wasn't until 2005 when Kirk visited a blog called The Absorbascon, which was supporting Thanagar during the Infinite Crisis miniseries The Rann/Thanager War. Inspired, Kirk created his own blog using the comic book Dial H for Hero as a basis, and did his own support for Rann.
The "blogazine", as the blog calls itself, mainly focuses on Silver Age DC Comics, though occasionally looks at other subjects, from Marvel Comics, to Archie Comics, to even Frankenstein. Dial B for Blog has an upcoming "volume" that will be launched on March 14, 2016, to coincide with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
This "blogazine" has examples of:
- Baseball Episode: Super Speed Baseball Game, in which a group of characters play baseball, culminating in two speedsters playing for each team and dragging it out for too long.
- Catchphrase: "I, Robby Reed, creator of this web site and author of this article..."
- Continuity Snarl: Hawkman's case of this was featured in the "Continuity Bomb" issue.
- Crowded Cast Shot: Issue 100 is a whole issue of it!
- Early Installment Weirdness: The early issues were styled like a sensationalist magazine.
- Evil vs. Evil: Evil Robby vs. Captain Action's Dr. Evil.
- Missing Episode: Issue 358, which featured an episode of Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse (a cartoon created by Bob Kane) called "The Case of the Gun Mixup" (chosen specifically because the Cat Gun was Robby's favorite part of the cartoon). Also, the original Issue 590, "Zero Hour for Robby Reed", which was designed as a Book End for Volume 3 (which began with The Mystery of Robby Reed).
- Mascot: Volume 3 has Johnny DB (based on Johnny DC), debuting in Issue 510.
- Overly Narrow Superlative: "It's Dial B For Blog... THE WORLD'S GREATEST COMIC BLOGAZINE!"
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: From Issue 364:Yes, Dr. Evil is without all doubt... THE! MOST! EVIL! BEING! EVER! EVER EVER EVER! Without exception!
- Running Gag:
- In his "DC Explodes on TV" miniseries, whenever the featured comic cover appeared in a DC superhero show, Robby is quick to point out that its characters could easily read it and find out the secret identity of the show's hero. The payoff comes in the finale, in which the featured comic is a Real World Episode of The Flash where the eponymous hero ends up on Earth Prime and reads his own comic book.
- Each fake cover for his "Coming Super Attractions" series contains a box saying, "Extra! SUPERBOY becomes as BALD as LUTHOR in... 'The BALD BOY of STEEL!'"
- Uninstallment: Robby has deliberately skipped Issue 701 at the end of Volume Six. The reason for this is unknown at this time.


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August 3, 2001
The Chambered Nautilus
Real Audio
Log Transcript
While on watch for whales the other day, we spotted something unusual floating in the water, upon closer inspection we realized it was the shell of one of the most remarkable creatures in the sea, the Chambered Nautilus.
A relative of the octopus, squid and cuttlefish, the Chambered Nautilus is an ancient cephalopod. Represented by only a single genus, the chambered nautilus is an animal that has inspired poets and naturalists since olden times. The poem, The Chambered Nautilus' by Oliver Wendell Holmes published in 1858, still remains one of the most popular poems ever written about a sea creature.
The Nautilus is the only living cephalopod to retain an external shell, today, the fossilized shells of extinct cephalopods provide a good record of their evolution.
There are 6 species of nautilus extending from the vast warm waters of the Indian Ocean to the tropics of the Pacific where it resides in the shadowless depths. The rarest and most enigmatic are found exclusively in the Bismarck Archipelago, here in Papua New Guinea, where the first was seen alive only in the last decade.
The Chambered Nautilus is unique to its family in many ways, it has anywhere from 60 - 90 very thin tentacles and very primitive eyes, which have been compared to a pinhole camera. Unlike many species of cephalopod that only live a few years and die after reproducing, the nautilus is believed to live twenty years or more. The male nautilus actually loses his reproductive organ during mating, breaking it off and placing it inside the female's mantle pouch, later growing himself a new one. They are propelled entirely by jet propulsion, using a siphon beneath the head to expel water from the mantle cavity. However, unlike some of their squid relatives who are able to reach speeds of 25miles per hour, faster than any other invertebrate, the nautilus is a comparatively slow swimmer and is predominantly a scavenger. It is rare to see these creatures in their natural habitat, as they usually only occur at a depth beneath which it is safe for humans to dive, typically around 500 - 650 feet (150 - 200 m).
The flat spiralling shell of the chambered nautilus is designed for a very specific function. The graceful swirls of the calcium shell house several distinct, ever-expanding compartments or chambers. The animal lives in the outermost and largest chamber, creating new and larger chambers, moving from old room to new room as it grows. Eventually, a shell that is more than 10 inches in diameter is created, an exquisite piece of work, even Pythagoras marvelled at the achievement of this logarithmic spiral, although it is a far cry from the 16ft shell of its extinct relative. A single tube called a siphuncle connects this series of chambers. This organ is used to pump fluids in and out of the chambers, it uses this system to control its buoyancy. Depending on the concentration of gases and fluids in each chamber, the nautilus will rise and sink in the water. Similar to the way a human diver will fill or expel air from a buoyancy vest to assist in ascent or decent.
Nautilus shells such as this one we found in the waters surrounding the Vitu Islands, are left empty when the animal has died, they can be found floating at the surface of the sea or washed ashore. The unique shell bears irregular brown stripes, which probably contribute to counter shading. Unfortunately the beautiful shell of this rare animal is often polished and sold in tourist shops and markets. Some shells may be collected from the beach, but it is highly likely that once the tourist demand is created, they are captured using traps at depth.
This is Genevieve Johnson speaking to you from the Odyssey in Papua New Guinea.
Log by Genevieve Johnson
<< Back


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B.C. Lions unveil their new head coach, former Calgary defensive coordinator DeVone Claybrooks
The big man was confused.
He'd just woken up in Foothills Hospital in Calgary and saw his mom in his room. What's she doing here, he thought. Hell, what am I doing here?
"How long have I been here, a couple of hours?" DeVone Claybrooks asked his mother Sally, still failing to grasp the scope of what had happened.
"No baby," she answered. "You've been out for 18 hours."
And that's when Claybrooks, who went 6-foot-3 and three bills in his NFL playing days, who consumed 15-hour work days like they were saltines, started to cry.
"My mom always told me before every blessing in his life there will be some bad things," he said, just over three months after the fact. "From that (scare with diabetes) I went to winning a Grey Cup to being named a head coach. Besides, I went from having two abs to three abs so it kind of worked out."
He also has an explanation for the tears.
"I looked down and they'd put in a catheter (we trust this needs no further explanation)," he said. "I say, 'What's going on down there.' She says, 'You're about to die and all you're worried about is down there. What's wrong with you?'"
Strap in folks. The Claybrooks era is going to be an interesting ride.
On Tuesday, the Lions confirmed the worst-kept secret in the CFL when they announced the former Stampeders' defensive coordinator had been named the 26th head coach in franchise history. GM Ed Hervey interviewed multiple candidates — "Respect for the process," he said — but Claybrooks was always No. 1 on his list.
He also marks a clean break from the Wally Buono-era and it's believed the new coaching staff will reinforce the changing of the guard. Claybrooks was given autonomy in hiring his own staff and he says it's about 80 per cent complete. It's thought CFL veteran Rich Stubler will supplant Mark Washington as the Lions' defensive coordinator and Vancouver kid Bryan Chiu is under consideration to replace Dan Dorazio as offensive line coach.
˚"You want to work with people you know and trust," Claybrooks said. "I know the standard I'm going to work at and I know the standard Ed's going to work at. You want guys who understand this is where we're going and you don't have to look over their shoulder."
He paused.
"I'm not trying to be brash or cocky but you have to have a certain swagger in this game and our players are going to have it."
Their coach certainly will.
Claybrooks spent seven years on the Stampeders' staff, first as the defensive line coach and then as defensive coordinator the last three years. Before that he had playing stints in Calgary and Montreal before spending four years in the NFL, where he played for everyone from Bill Parcells to Jon Gruden to Dennis Green. He was also considering an offer to join the Dallas Cowboys as a position coach under coordinator Rod Marinelli, his former position coach in Tampa Bay, when he took the Lions' job.
"There are always opportunities to be a position coach but there aren't always opportunities to be a head coach," Claybrooks said. "You have to take advantage of them."
Particularly when you're three months removed from a near-death experience.
Claybrooks said the signs of his impending collapse had been there for a while. He just chose to ignore them. In early September he took a day off work, thinking he was coming down with the flu. His mother immediately recognized there was a bigger problem.
"I called the neighbour (from her home in Virginia) and said go check on him, he's not answering the phone," said Sally Claybrooks, who attended the Tuesday presser. "The guy held the phone up for him and (DeVone) said, "I'm OK mom. Don't worry.' I was like, 'He's not OK.' I could feel it and I knew something was wrong. I said call 911 and take him to the hospital."
Sally Claybrooks had DeVone when she was 17 and raised him through her own challenges as a single parent. She calls him her best friend.
"I'm blessed my mom was around to take care of me," said Claybrooks. "She cleaned up all the sugar and sweets. I've eaten more fruit in the last two months than I did my first 41 years of life."
As you may have surmised by now, the Lions new head coach is a big personality. As part of his act, he usually coaches in shorts while wearing a baseball hat at a goofy angle and if that suggests he's not serious about his job, that's what he wants the opposition to think.
"You can get that question out of the way early," he said. "The hat will be the same. My thing is if you're worried about the hat and not what's under the hat, then I've got you."
"I didn't hire the hat," said Hervey. "This is the CFL where we get to be ourselves."
Hervey, in fact, went on at length about the substance behind his new coach's style. He talked about their working relationship and shared philosophies, how you can't hope to have success unless the GM and head coach are unified in their purpose.
"I could tell it was not only the right fit for the organization, it was the right fit for me," Hervey said before adding. "I believe in my heart of hearts this relationship is going to work now and it's going to work beyond. We're going to roll our sleeves up and make this thing happen."
And there might be a few laughs along the way.


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This week I invited my friend Stephanie Belk Prats to have a conversation with me about the upcoming elections.
Stephanie is a writer and strategist who completed her MFA at The New School in New York City. We met up and recorded our thoughts on the way Puerto Ricans are portrayed in the Media around these Elections, and specifically the narrative about those displaced by Hurricane Maria.
We want to give a shout out to Vamos4PR and BoricuActivated, two Puerto Rican Organizations in Florida who are working hard to ensure that those who can, actually do vote on Tuesday. We hope all that were displaced can go vote… but though we are a community that suffered this Trauma together, it does merit mentioning that those displaced by Maria deserve dignity in the way they are addressed and the way they are mentioned in the Media. We hope you enjoy this conversation and I will certainly post a follow up episode with reactions on the results.
For those who are still wondering – "Why Vote?" – just let me say this:
It's easy to feel defeated, but lets do the other thing instead. Let's send a strong message to the powers who normally ignore us. In our vote – we send a message that we are present and we're not going to negotiate on our Colonial status anymore. That we are united.
SO vote.
Vote even if you hate the options, vote even if you think neither party will give us anything. Vote because they shouldn't be allowed to forget. Vote because you are owed an answer to the thousands of lives that DIED on Puerto Rican soil, en nuestra isla…. On our island.
Vote because my stepdad didn't live, and I'm still here picking up the pieces, hoping that someday our collective efforts will give us back our dignity. Do this for the many Puerto Ricans on the island who are looking to us in the Diaspora for strength and hope and solidarity.
We won't forget you Puerto Rico. We will defend you.


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Last year one of my most popular posts was the sneak peek at the current Jerome C. Rousseau collection for SS14, which tells me that you really, really like what this man can do with shoes!
To whet your appetite for the forthcoming Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, here's a sneaky peek below at my new favourites.
Overall the collection is inspired by Victorian costume and rich ornate details from the rococo period, which lends to some unexpected volume reinterpreted through the use of ribbon, zip trims and unique hardware. Dror Benshetrit's "Peacock Chair" inspires the intricately ruffled patterns and architectural nature of several styles, including the label's new signature ornate heel. Jerome C. Rousseau also creates playful pieces borrowing from pop music and 1980's icons, with lyrical content featured as tongue-in-cheek sentences laser-cut onto peep toe pumps and booties. Punk is another key theme thanks to tartan-printed suede found on pointy courts and peep-toe ankle boots.
Colour-wise watch out for a saturated ultraviolet, red, grey and nude shades used across soft suede and metallic leathers. An antique gold is perfect for party season, whilst classic black patent will never go out of fashion. Stamped velvet, navy and red hounds tooth, and lizard-embossed leathers also feature heavily for AW14 - just like in my favourite style, the Armian.
Jerome C. Rousseau is stocked at avenue32.com and www.jeromecrousseau.com


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List of some secondary plant product produced in suspension culture
1. Introduction
Tissue culture is the in vitro aseptic culture of cells, tissues, organs or whole plant under controlled nutritional and environmental conditions [1] often to produce the clones of plants. The resultant clones are true-to type of the selected genotype. The controlled conditions provide the culture an environment conducive for their growth and multiplication. These conditions include proper supply of nutrients, pH medium, adequate temperature and proper gaseous and liquid environment.
Plant tissue culture technology is being widely used for large scale plant multiplication. Apart from their use as a tool of research, plant tissue culture techniques have in recent years, become of major industrial importance in the area of plant propagation, disease elimination, plant improvement and production of secondary metabolites.Small pieces of tissue (named explants) can be used to produce hundreds and thousands of plants in a continuous process. A single explant can be multiplied into several thousand plants in relatively short time period and space under controlled conditions, irrespective of the season and weather on a year round basis [2]. Endangered, threatened and rare species have successfully been grown and conserved by micropropagation because of high coefficient of multiplication and small demands on number of initial plants and space.
In addition, plant tissue culture is considered to be the most efficient technology for crop improvement by the production of somaclonal and gametoclonal variants. The micropropagation technology has a vast potential to produce plants of superior quality, isolation of useful variants in well-adapted high yielding genotypes with better disease resistance and stress tolerance capacities [3]. Certain type of callus cultures give rise to clones that have inheritable characteristics different from those of parent plants due to the possibility of occurrence of somaclonal variability [4], which leads to the development of commercially important improved varieties. Commercial production of plants through micropropagation techniques has several advantages over the traditional methods of propagation through seed, cutting, grafting and air-layering etc. It is rapid propagation processes that can lead to the production of plants virus free [5]. Coryodalisyanhusuo, an important medicinal plant was propagated by somatic embryogenesis from tuber-derived callus to produce disease free tubers [6]. Meristem tip culture of banana plants devoid from banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) and brome mosaic virus (BMV) were produced [7]. Higher yields have been obtained by culturing pathogen free germplasmin vitro. Increase in yield up to 150% of virus-free potatoes was obtained in controlled conditions [8]. The main objective of writing this chapter is to describe the tissue culture techniques, various developments, present and future trends and its application in various fields.
2. History of plant tissue culture
The science of plant tissue culture takes its roots from the discovery of cell followed by propounding of cell theory. In 1838, Schleiden and Schwann proposed that cell is the basic structural unit of all living organisms. They visualized that cell is capable of autonomy and therefore it should be possible for each cell if given an environment to regenerate into whole plant. Based on this premise, in 1902, a German physiologist, Gottlieb Haberlandt for the first time attempted to culture isolated single palisade cells from leaves in knop's salt solution enriched with sucrose.The cells remained alive for up to one month, increased in size, accumulated starch but failed to divide. Though he was unsuccessful but laid down the foundation of tissue culture technology for which he is regarded as the father of plant tissue culture. After that some of the landmark discoveries took place in tissue culture which are summarized as under:
1902 - Haberlandt proposed concept of in vitro cell culture
1904 - Hannig cultured embryos from several cruciferous species
1922 - Kolte and Robbins successfully cultured root and stem tips respectively
1926 - Went discovered first plant growth hormone –Indole acetic acid
1934 - White introduced vitamin B as growth supplement in tissue culture media for tomato root tip
1939 - Gautheret, White and Nobecourt established endless proliferation of callus cultures
1941 - Overbeek was first to add coconut milk for cell division in Datura
1946 - Ball raised whole plants of Lupinus by shoot tip culture
1954 - Muir was first to break callus tissues into single cells
1955 - Skoog and Miller discovered kinetin as cell division hormone
1957 - Skoog and Miller gave concept of hormonal control (auxin: cytokinin) of organ formation
1959 - Reinert and Steward regenerated embryos from callus clumps and cell suspension of carrot (Daucuscarota)
1960 - Cocking was first to isolate protoplast by enzymatic degradation of cell wall
1960 - Bergmann filtered cell suspension and isolated single cells by plating
1960 - Kanta and Maheshwari developed test tube fertilization technique
1962 - Murashige and Skoog developed MS medium with higher salt concentration
1964 - Guha and Maheshwari produced first haploid plants from pollen grains of Datura (Anther culture)
1966 - Steward demonstrated totipotency by regenerating carrot plants from single cells of tomato
1970 - Power et al. successfully achieved protoplast fusion
1971 - Takebe et al.regenerated first plants from protoplasts
1972 - Carlson produced first interspecific hybrid of Nicotianatabacum by protoplast fusion
1974 - Reinhardintroduced biotransformation in plant tissue cultures
1977 - Chilton et al. successfully integrated Ti plasmid DNA from Agrobacterium tumefaciens in plants
1978- Melchers et al. carried out somatic hybridization of tomato and potato resulting in pomato
1981- Larkin and Scowcroft introduced the term somaclonal variation
1983 - Pelletier et al.conductedintergeneric cytoplasmic hybridization in Radish and Grape
1984 - Horshet al. developed transgenic tobacco by transformation with Agrobacterium
1987 - Klienet al. developed biolistic gene transfer method for plant transformation
2005 - Rice genome sequenced under International Rice Genome Sequencing Project
3. Basics of plant cell and tissue culture
In plant cell culture, plant tissues and organs are grown in vitro on artificial media, under aseptic and controlled environment. The technique depends mainly on the concept of totipotentiality of plant cells [9] which refers to the ability of a single cell to express the full genome by cell division. Along with the totipotent potential of plant cell, the capacity of cells to alter their metabolism, growth and development is also equally important and crucial to regenerate the entire plant [1]. Plant tissue culture medium contains all the nutrients required for the normal growth and development of plants. It is mainly composed of macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, other organic components, plant growth regulators, carbon source and some gelling agents in case of solid medium [10]. Murashige and Skoog medium (MS medium) is most extensively used for the vegetative propagation of many plant species in vitro. The pH of the media is also important that affects both the growth of plants and activity of plant growth regulators. It is adjusted to the value between 5.4 - 5.8. Both the solid and liquid medium can be used for culturing. The composition of the medium, particularly the plant hormones and the nitrogen source has profound effects on the response of the initial explant.
Plant growth regulators (PGR's) play an essential role in determining the development pathway of plant cells and tissues in culture medium. The auxins, cytokinins and gibberellins are most commonly used plant growth regulators. The type and the concentration of hormones used depend mainly on the species of the plant, the tissue or organ cultured and the objective of the experiment [11]. Auxins and cytokinins are most widely used plant growth regulators in plant tissue culture and their amount determined the type of culture established or regenerated. The high concentration of auxins generally favors root formation, whereas the high concentration of cytokinins promotes shoot regeneration. A balance of both auxin and cytokinin leads to the development of mass of undifferentiated cells known as callus.
Maximum root induction and proliferation was found in Stevia rebaudiana, when the medium is supplemented with 0.5 mg/l NAA [12]. Cytokinins generally promote cell division and induce shoot formation and axillary shoot proliferation. High cytokinin to auxin ratio promotes shoot proliferation while high auxin to cytokinins ratio results in root formation [13]. Shoot initiation and proliferation was found maximum, when the callus of black pepper was shifted to medium supplemented with BA at the concentration of 0.5 mg/l [14]. Gibberellins are used for enhanced growth and to promote cell elongation. Maximum shoot length was observed in Phalaenopsis orchids when cultured in medium containing 0.5 mg/l GA3 (unpublished).
4. Tissue culture in agriculture
As an emerging technology, the plant tissue culture has a great impact on both agriculture and industry, through providing plants needed to meet the ever increasing world demand. It has made significant contributions to the advancement of agricultural sciences in recent times and today they constitute an indispensable tool in modern agriculture [5].
Biotechnology has been introduced into agricultural practice at a rate without precedent. Tissue culture allows the production and propagation of genetically homogeneous, disease-free plant material [37]. Cell and tissue in vitro culture is a useful tool for the induction of somaclonal variation [38]. Genetic variability induced by tissue culture could be used as a source of variability to obtain new stable genotypes. Interventions of biotechnological approaches for in vitro regeneration, mass micropropagation techniques and gene transfer studies in tree species have been encouraging. In vitro cultures of mature and/or immature zygotic embryos are applied to recover plants obtained from inter-generic crosses that do not produce fertile seeds [39]. Genetic engineering can make possible a number of improved crop varieties with high yield potential and resistance against pests. Genetic transformation technology relies on the technical aspects of plant tissue culture and molecular biology for:
Production of improved crop varieties
Production of disease-free plants (virus)
Genetic transformation
Production of secondary metabolites
Production of varieties tolerant to salinity, drought and heat stresses
5. Germplasm conservation
In vitro cell and organ culture offers an alternative source for the conservation of endangered genotypes [40]. Germplasm conservation worldwide is increasingly becoming an essential activity due to the high rate of disappearance of plant species and the increased need for safeguarding the floristic patrimony of the countries [41]. Tissue culture protocols can be used for preservation of vegetative tissues when the targets for conservation are clones instead of seeds, to keep the genetic background of a crop and to avoid the loss of the conserved patrimony due to natural disasters, whether biotic or abiotic stress [42]. The plant species which do not produce seeds (sterile plants) or which have 'recalcitrant' seeds that cannot be stored for long period of time can successfully be preserved via in vitro techniques for the maintenance of gene banks.
Cryopreservation plays a vital role in the long-term in vitro conservation of essential biological material and genetic resources. It involves the storage of in vitro cells or tissues in liquid nitrogen that results incryo-injury on the exposure of tissues tophysical andchemical stresses. Successful cryopreservation is often ascertained by cell and tissue survival and the ability to re-grow or regenerate into complete plants or form new colonies [43]. It is desirable to assess the genetic integrity of recovered germplasm to determine whether it is 'true-to-type' following cryopreservation [44]. The fidelity of recovered plants can be assessed at phenotypic, histological, cytological, biochemical and molecular levels, although, there are advantages and limitations of the various approaches used to assess genetic stability [45]. Cryobionomics is a new approach to study genetic stability in the cryopreserved plant materials [46]. The embryonic tissues can be cryopreserved for future use or for germplasm conservation [47].
6. Embryo culture
Embryo culture is a type of plant tissue culture that is used to grow embryos from seeds and ovules in a nutrient medium. In embryo culture, the plant develops directly from the embryo or indirectly through the formation of callus and then subsequent formation of shoots and roots. The technique has been developed to break seed dormancy, test the vitality of seeds, production of rare species and haploid plants [59, 119]. It is an effective technique that is employed to shorten the breeding cycle of plants by growing excised embryos and results in the reduction of long dormancy period of seeds. Intra-varietal hybrids of an economically important energy plant "Jatropha" have been produced successfully with the specific objective of mass multiplication [62]. Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration has been carried out in embryo cultures of Jucara Palm for rapid cloning and improvement of selected individuals [60]. In addition, conservation of endangered species can also be attained by practicing embryo culture technique. Recently a successful protocol has been developed for the in vitro propagation of Khayagrandifoliola by excising embryos from mature seeds [61]. The plant has a high economic value for timber wood and for medicinal purposes as well. This technique has an important application in forestry by offering a mean of propagation of elite individuals where the selection and improvement of natural population is difficult.
7. Genetic transformation
Genetic transformation is the most recent aspect of plant cell and tissue culture that provides the mean of transfer of genes with desirable trait into host plants and recovery of transgenic plants [63]. The technique has a great potential of genetic improvement of various crop plants by integrating in plant biotechnology and breeding programmes. It has a promising role for the introduction of agronomically important traits such as increased yield, better quality and enhanced resistance to pests and diseases [64].
Genetic transformation in plants can be achieved by either vector-mediated (indirect gene transfer) or vectorless (direct gene transfer) method [65]. Among vector dependant gene transfer methods, Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation is most widely used for the expression of foreign genes in plant cells. Successful introduction of agronomic traits in plants was achieved by using root explants for the genetic transformation [66]. Virus-based vectors offers an alternative way of stable and rapid transient protein expression in plant cells thus providing an efficient mean of recombinant protein production on large scale [67].
Recently successful transgenic plants of Jatropha were obtained by direct DNA delivery to mature seed-derived shoot apices via particle bombardment method [68]. This technology has an important impact on the reduction of toxic substances in seeds [69] thus overcoming the obstacle of seed utilization in various industrial sector. Regeneration of disease or viral resistant plants is now achieved by employing genetic transformation technique. Researchers succeeded in developing transgenic plants of potato resistant to potato virus Y (PVY) which is a major threat to potato crop worldwide [70]. In addition, marker free transgenic plants of Petunia hybrida were produced using multi-auto-transformation (MAT) vector system. The plants exhibited high level of resistance to Botrytis cinerea,causal agent of gray mold [71].
8. Protoplast fusion
Somatic hybridization is an important tool of plant breeding and crop improvement by the production of interspecific and intergeneric hybrids. The technique involves the fusion of protoplasts of two different genomes followed by the selection of desired somatic hybrid cells and regeneration of hybrid plants [48]. Protoplast fusion provides an efficient mean of gene transfer with desired trait from one species to another and has an increasing impact on crop improvement [3]. Somatic hybrids were produced by fusion of protoplasts from rice and ditch reed using electrofusion treatment for salt tolerance [49].
In vitro fusion of protoplast opens a way of developing unique hybrid plants by overcoming the barriers of sexual incompatibility. The technique has been applicable in horticultural industry to create new hybrids with increased fruit yield and better resistance to diseases. Successful viable hybrid plants were obtained when protoplasts from citrus were fused with other related citrinae species [50]. The potential of somatic hybridization in important crop plants is best illustrated by the production of intergeneric hybrid plants among the members of Brassicaceae [51]. To resolvethe problem of loss of chromosomes and decreased regeneration capacity, successful protocol has been established for the production of somatic hybrid plants by using two types of wheat protoplast as recipient and protoplast of Haynaldiavillosa as a fusion donor. It is also employed as an important gene source for wheat improvement [52].
9. Haploid production
The tissue culture techniques enable to produce homozygous plants in relatively short time period through the protoplast, anther and microspore cultures instead of conventional breeding [53].
Haploids are sterile plants having single set of chromosomes which are converted into homozygous diploids by spontaneous or induced chromosome doubling. The doubling of chromosomes restores the fertility of plants resulting in production of double haploids with potential to become pure breeding new cultivars [54]. The term androgenesis refers to the production of haploid plants from young pollen cells without undergoing fertilization. Sudherson et al. [55] reported haploid plant production of sturt's desert pea by using pollen grains as primary explants. The haploidy technology has now become an integral part of plant breeding programs by speeding up the production of inbred lines [56] and overcoming the constraints of seed dormancy and embryo non-viability [57]. The technique has a remarkable use in genetic transformation by the production of haploid plants with induced resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Introduction of genes with desired trait at haploid state followed by chromosome doubling led to the production of double haploids inbred wheat and drought tolerant plantswere attained successfully [58].
10. Current and future status of plant tissue culture
The past decades of plant cell biotechnology has evolved as a new era in the field of biotechnology, focusing on the production of a large number of secondary plant products. During the second half of the last century the development of genetic engineering and molecular biology techniques allowed the appearance of improved and new agricultural products which have occupied an increasing demand in the productive systems of several countries worldwide [31, 32, 33, 34]. Nevertheless, these would have been impossible without the development of tissue culture techniques, which provided the tools for the introduction of genetic information into plant cells [35]. Nowadays, one of the most promising methods of producing proteins and other medicinal substances, such as antibodies and vaccines, is the use of transgenic plants [36]. Transgenic plants represent an economical alternative to fermentation-based production systems. Plant-made vaccines or antibodies (plantibodies) are especially striking, as plants are free of human diseases, thus reducing screening costs for viruses and bacterial toxins. The number of farmers who have incorporated transgenic plants into their production systems in 2008 was 13.3 million, in comparison to 11 million in 2007 [34].
11. Techniques of plant tissue culture
11.1. Micropropagation
Micropropagation starts with the selection of plant tissues (explant) from a healthy, vigorous mother plant [15].Any part of the plant (leaf, apical meristem, bud and root) can be used as explant. The whole process can be summarized into the following stages as shown in Figure 2.
11.2. Stage 0: Preparation of donor plant
Any plant tissue can be introduced in vitro. To enhance the probability of success, the mother plant should be ex vitro cultivated under optimal conditions to minimize contamination in the in vitro culture [16].
11.3. Stage I: Initiation stage
In this stage an explant is surface sterilized and transferred into nutrient medium. Generally, the combined application of bactericide and fungicide products is suggested. The selection of products depends on the type of explant to be introduced. The surface sterilization of explant in chemical solutions is an important step to remove contaminants with minimal damage to plant cells [17]. The most commonly used disinfectants are sodium hypochlorite [18, 19], calcium hypochlorite [20], ethanol [21] and mercuric chloride (HgCl2) [17]. The cultures are incubated in growth chamber either under light or dark conditions according to the method of propagation.
11.4. Stage II: Multiplication stage
The aim of this phase is to increase the number of propagules [22]. The number of propagules is multiplied by repeated subcultures until the desired (or planned) number of plants is attained.
11.5. Stage III: Rooting stage
The rooting stage may occur simultaneously in the same culture media used for multiplication of the explants. However, in some cases it is necessary to change media, including nutritional modification and growth regulator composition to induce rooting and the development of strong root growth.
11.6. Stage IV: Acclimatization Stage
At this stage, the in vitro plants are weaned and hardened. Hardening is done gradually from high to low humidity and from low light intensity to high light intensity. The plants are then transferred to an appropriate substrate (sand, peat, compost etc.) and gradually hardened under greenhouse.
12. Somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis
Somatic embryogenesis: is an in vitro method of plant regeneration widely used as an important biotechnological tool for sustained clonal propagation [23]. It is a process by which somatic cells or tissues develop into differentiated embryos. These somatic embryos can develop into whole plants without undergoing the process of sexual fertilization as done by zygotic embryos. The somatic embryogenesis can be initiated directly from the explants or indirectly by the establishment of mass of unorganized cells named callus.
Plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis occurs by the induction of embryogenic cultures from zygotic seed, leaf or stem segment and further multiplication of embryos.Mature embryos are then cultured for germination and plantlet development, and finally transferred to soil
Somatic embryogenesis has been reported in many plants including trees and ornamental plants of different families. The phenomenon has been observed in some cactus species [24]. There are various factors that affect the induction and development of somatic embryos in cultured cells. A highly efficient protocol has been reported for somatic embryogenesis on grapevine [25] that showed higher plant regeneration sufficiently when the tissues were cultured in liquid medium. Plant growth regulators play an important role in the regeneration and proliferation of somatic embryos. Highest efficiency of embryonic callus was induced by culturing nodal stem segments of rose hybrids on medium supplemented with various PGR's alone or in combination [26]. This embryonic callus showed high germination rate of somatic embryos when grown on abscisic acid (ABA) alone. Somatic embryogenesis is not only a process of regenerating the plants for mass propagation but also regarded as a valuable tool for genetic manipulation. The process can also be used to develop the plants that are resistant to various kinds of stresses [27] and to introduce the genes by genetic transformation [28]. A successful protocol has been developed for regeneration of cotton cultivars with resistance to Fusarium and Verticillium wilts [29].
Organogenesis: refers to the production of plant organs i.e. roots, shoots and leaves that may arise directly from the meristem or indirectly from the undifferentiated cell masses (callus). Plant regeneration via organogenesis involves the callus production and differentiation of adventitious meristems into organs by altering the concentration of plant growth hormones in nutrient medium. Skoog and Muller [30] were the first who demonstrated that high ratio of cytokinin to auxin stimulated the formation of shoots in tobacco callus while high auxin to cytokinin ratio induced root regeneration.
13. Tissue culture in pharmaceuticals
Plant cell and tissue cultures hold great promise for controlled production of myriad of useful secondary metabolites [72]. Plant cell cultures combine the merits of whole-plant systems with those of microbial and animal cell cultures for the production of valuable therapeutic secondary metabolites [73]. In the search for alternatives to production of medicinal compounds from plants, biotechnological approaches, specifically plant tissue cultures, are found to have potential as a supplement to traditional agriculture in the industrial production of bioactive plant metabolites [74]. Exploration of the biosynthetic capabilities of various cell cultures has been carried out by a group of plant scientists and microbiologists in several countries during the last decade [75].
Cell suspension culture: Cell suspension culture systems are used now days for large scale culturing of plant cells from which secondary metabolites could be extracted. A suspension culture is developed by transferring the relatively friable portion of the callus into liquid medium and is maintained under suitable conditions of aeration, agitation, light, temperature and other physical parameters [76]. Cell cultures cannot only yield defined standard phytochemicals in large volumes but also eliminate the presence of interfering compounds that occur in the field-grown plants [77]. The advantage of this method is that it can ultimately provide a continuous, reliable source of natural products [78]. The major advantage of the cell cultures include synthesis of bioactive secondary metabolites, running in controlled environment, independently from climate and soil conditions [79].A number of different types of bioreactors have been used for mass cultivation of plant cells. The first commercial application of large scale cultivation of plant cells was carried out in stirred tank reactors of 200 liter and 750 liter capacities to produce shikonin by cell culture of Lithospermumerythrorhizon [80]. Cell of Catharanthusroseus, Dioscoreadeltoidea, Digitalis lanata, Panaxnotoginseng, Taxuswallichiana and Podophyllumhexandrum have been cultured in various bioreactors for the production of secondary plant products.
A number of medicinally important alkaloids, anticancer drugs, recombinant proteins and food additives are produced in various cultures of plant cell and tissues. Advances in the area of cell cultures for the production of medicinal compounds has made possible the production of a wide variety of pharmaceuticals like alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, saponins, phenolics, flavanoids and amino acids [72, 81]. Some of these are now available commercially in the market for example shikonin and paclitaxel (Taxol). Until now 20 different recombinant proteins have been produced in plant cell culture, including antibodies, enzymes, edible vaccines, growth factors and cytokines [73]. Advances in scale-up approaches and immobilization techniques contribute to a considerable increase in the number of applications of plant cell cultures for the production of compounds with a high added value. Some of the secondary plant products obtained from cell suspension culture of various plants are given in Table 1.
|Secondary metabolite
|Plant name
|Artemisia annua
|Capsicum annum
|Cassia senna
Indole alkaloids
|Ginseng saponin
|Taxane Paclitaxel
14. Hairy root cultures
The hairy root system based on inoculation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes has become popular in the last two decades as a method of producing secondary metabolites synthesized in plant roots [99]. Organized cultures, and especially root cultures, can make a significant contribution in the production of secondary metabolites. Most of the research efforts that use differentiated cultures instead of cell suspension cultures have focused on transformed (hairy) roots. Agrobacterium rhizogenes causes hairy root disease in plants. The neoplastic (cancerous) roots produced by A. rhizogenes infection are characterized by high growth rate, genetic stability and growth in hormone free media [100]. High stability [101] and productivity features allow the exploitation of hairy roots as valuable biotechnological tool for the production of plant secondary metabolites [102]. These genetically transformed root cultures can produce levels of secondary metabolites comparable to that of intact plants [103]. Hairy root technology has been strongly improved by increased knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying their development. Optimizing the composition of nutrients for hairy root cultures is critical to gain a high production of secondary metabolites [100]. Some of the secondary plant products obtained from hairy root culture of various plants are shown in Table 2.
|Secondary metabolite
|Plant name
|Rosmarinic acid
|Angelica gigas
|Brugmansia candida
|Panax ginseng
|Vinca major
|Withanoloid A
15. Tissue culture facilities at Qarshiindustries
Plant tissue culture Lab was established in 2004 with the objectives to raise endangered medicinal plant species and the plants difficult to raise through traditional methods for conservation and mass propagation. We have so far propagated 12 medicinal plant species (PlumbagozeylanicaL., NicotianatabacumL., Artemisia absinthiumL., Rosa damascenaMill.,Althea roseaL.,SteviarebaudianaBertoni., JatrophacurcasL., Phalaenopsis,PipernigrumL., SolanumtuberosumL., Araucaria heterophyllaSalisb. Franco.,TaxuswallichianaZucc.) and currently working on propagation of commercially important endangered woody plant species like Taxuswallichiana. Commercialization of some fruit and vegetable crops are underway. The protocols developed for The Moth Orchid, Tobacco, Honey Plant, Potato and Physic nut are presented as case studies.
16. Case study 1
16.1. Micropropagation of Phalaenopsis "The Moth Orchids"
Orchids are usually grown for the beauty, exoticism and fragrance of their flowers. They are cultivated since the times of Confucius (ca. 551 - 479 BC). Some orchids are commercialized not for their beauty, but for uses in food industry. They are also used medicinally as a treatment for diarrhea and as an aphrodisiac. The vegetative propagation of phalaenopsis is difficult and time consuming. In addition, the desired characteristics of seedlings and uniformity are not attained.
In vitro propagation studies of phalaenopsis "the moth orchids" had the objective to develop a protocol for plant regeneration from callus. Thus in vitro culture techniques are adopted for quick propagation of commercially important orchid species. Regeneration from callus gives a way to rectify the problem of explants shortage. The callus of phalaenopsis previously obtained from the mature orchid plant was used as explant source. The callus was maintained on MS medium added with 3.0 % sucrose, 0.8 % agar, and different concentrationsof BAP and 2, 4-D. Callus was sub-cultured after every 30 days forproliferation. Maximum callus proliferation was obtained when the medium was supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BA. Fresh green and non friable callus was obtained. For shoot regeneration and elongation, the callus was transferred to MS medium supplemented with BAP and GA3 at different concentrations. Maximum shoot elongation was obtained in medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l GA3 as shown in Figure 3 a, b, c.
The regenerated shoots showed excess root development when transferred to medium added with 2.0 mg/l IBA. Further research work will focus on different potting medium compositions best suited for acclimatization of regenerated plants.As a high value crop, the mass production of orchids will provide a good opportunity of marketing locally as a good source of income.
17. Case study 2
17.1. Tissue culture of Tobacco (NicotianatabacumL.)
Tobacco is an important crop of Pakistan which covers a large area under cultivation. Being a cash crop grown all over the world, it has a good economic value. Fresh leaves of the plants are processed to obtain an agricultural product that is commercially available in dried, cured and natural forms. Clonal propagation of four important low nicotine content hybrid varieties of tobacco i.e. PGH-01, PGH-02, PGH-04 and PGH-09 was carried out with the special objective of commercialization of tissue cultured plants to the farmers and industry. The mother plants were provided by Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB). Leaves and meristems were used as explants for the initiation of callus culture. Callus induction and proliferation was carried out on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of 2,4-D. Excellent growth of callus was obtained at medium containing 1.0 mg/l 2,4-D. Callus was transferred to next medium for shoot regeneration. Efficient numbers of shoots were obtained when culture was shifted to MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BAP. For root induction different concentrations of IBA and NAA were tested and the result was found best on the same medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l IBA as shown in Figure 4 a, b, c.
18. Case study 3
In vitro propagation of Honey Plant (Stevia rebaudianaBertoni) The in vitro clonal propagation of Stevia rebaudiana was conducted by inoculatingseeds on MS medium [10] and placing under photoperiod of 16 hrs light and 8hrs dark in growth room. The seedlings with four nodes have beendivided into 0.5 cm pieces of nodal segments and used as explants. For shoot multiplication, the nodal explants were inoculated on MS medium supplemented with 3.0% sucrose and 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 mg/l of BAP and Kn (Kinetin) alone or in combinations with 0.25 and 0.5 mg/l of IAA. MS medium containing 2.0 mg/l BAP showed the best response to multiple shoot formation,while the highest shoot length (3.73 ± 0.14 cm) per microshoot was observed on MS medium containing 2.0 Kn and 0.25 mg/l IAA after 15 days of inoculation as shown in Figure 5 a, b, c.Excised microshoots were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/l of NAA and IBA separately for the root induction. The optimal rooting (81%) was observed on MS medium containing 0.5 mg/l NAA with 2% sucrose within two weeks of culture transfer. The rooted plantlets were acclimatized successfully and transferred to greenhouse under low light intensity. This protocol for in vitro clonal propagation of Stevia rebaudiana has been optimized for thelocal environment, as a consequence it will be helpful to establish and cultivate Steviarebaudiana for commercial scale production in various environmental conditions in Pakistan.
19. Case study 4
19.1. Multiplication and regeneration of Potato (SolanumtuberosumL.) from nodal explants
Solanumtuberosum L. (potato) is the most important vegetable crop that occupies major area under cultivation in Pakistan. The crop is high yielding, has high nutritive value and gives maximum returns to farmers. Tissue culture is employed as a technique for rapid multiplication of potato plants free from diseases. The research was carried out with the objective of mass multiplication of true-to type three potato varieties i.e. Desiree, Diamant and Cardinal. The plant material for this research was provided by Four Brothers Agri Services Pakistan. The Company is working for introduction of high yielding vegetable & crop varieties in Pakistan.
The disease free potato tubers were washed both with detergent and distilled water to remove impurities and allowed to sprouting. Five days old sprouts were used as explants for direct proliferation. The explants were surface sterilized in detergent for 10 minutes, later with 0.1 % mercuric chloride solution for 5 minutes followed by three times washing with sterilized-distilled water. The sprouts were aseptically cut into 10 mm sections containing one node and inoculated in medium. The Espinosa medium plus vitamin B5 supplemented with different concentrations of BAP and GA3 alone and in combinations was utilized. Highest shoot length of shoots was observed in presence of 0.5 mg/l BAP and 0.4 mg/l GA3 with the ability to produce maximum plantlets per explant. For root induction the same medium was used with different concentrations of NAA and IBA. NAA at2.0 mg/l induced the highestroot development. The rooted plantlets were successfully acclimatized and delivered to the company for cultivation.
20. Case study 5
20.1. Tissue culture of physic nut (Jatrophacurcas L.)
The research studies on Tissue Culture of Jatropha (physic nut) had the objectives to develop protocol for mass propagation of elite trees selected on the bases of higher seed production and oil content.The experimental plant of Jatrophacurcaswas grown in the laboratory under controlled conditions for in vitro studies.
Leaf and apical meristem explants isolated from 7 days old seedling of Jatrophacurcas, were use to induce callus.
Murashige&Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with different growth regulator formulations including 2,4-D and IBA was used. Excellent growth of callus on leaf explants was obtained in medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L 2, 4-D. Callus produced from leaf explants in all IBA concentrations grew faster during 7 to 30 days of culture and then stabilized at a slow growth rate. While 1.0 mg/L 2,4-D was proved to be most effective in inducing callus on a large scale in short period of time.Callus was soft, friable and white in color.
Apical meristem was used as explant for direct shoot regeneration. Rooting from meristem was effectively achieved on MS supplemented with 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mg/l IBA. Root induction with 2.0 mg/l IBA was most effective and the roots also developed secondary roots.
In near future somatic embryogenesis and shoot regeneration from callus will be tested in MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of BA. The regenerated plant will be acclimatized and released for field planting under various climatic and soil conditions for further studies.
21. Conclusion
Plant tissue culture represents the most promising areas of application at present time and giving an out look into the future. The areas ranges from micropropagation of ornamental and forest trees, production of pharmaceutically interesting compounds, and plant breeding for improved nutritional value of staple crop plants, including trees to cryopreservation of valuable germplasm. All biotechnological approaches like genetic engineering, haploid induction, or somaclonal variation to improve traits strongly depend on an efficient in-vitro plant regeneration system.
The rapid production of high quality, disease free and uniform planting stock is only possible through micropropagation. New opportunities has been created for producers, farmers and nursery owners for high quality planting materials of fruits, ornamentals, forest tree species and vegetables. Plant production can be carried out throughout the year irrespective of season and weather. However micropropagation technology is expensive as compared to conventional methods of propagation by means of seed, cuttings and grafting etc. Therefore it is essential to adopt measures to reduce cost of production. Low cost production of plants requires cost effective practices and optimal use of equipment to reduce the unit cost of plant production. It can be achieved by improving the process efficiency and better utilization of resources. Bioreactor based plant propagation can increase the speed of multiplication and growth of cultures and reduce space, energy and labor requirements when commencing commercial propagation. However, the use of bioreactors needs special care and handling to avoid contamination of culture which may lead to heavy economic losses. The cost of production may also be reduced by selecting several plants that provide the option for around the year production and allow cost flow and optimal use of equipment and resources. It is also essential to have sufficient mother culture and reduce the number of subculture to avoid variation and plan the production of plants according to the demand.
Quality control is also very essential to assure high quality plant production and to obtain confidence of the consumers. The selection of explants source, diseases free material, authenticity of variety and elimination of somaclonal variants are some of the most critical parameters for ensuring the quality of the plants.
The in vitro culture has a unique role in sustainable and competitive agriculture and forestry and has been successfully applied in plant breeding for rapid introduction of improved plants.Plant tissue culture has become an integral part of plant breeding. It can also be used for the production of plants as a source of edible vaccines. There are many useful plant-derived substances which can be produced in tissue cultures.
Since last two decades there have been considerable efforts made in the use of plant cell cultures in bioproduction, bioconversion or biotransformation and biosynthetic studies. The potential commercial production of pharmaceuticals by cell culture techniques depends upon detailed investigations into the biosynthetic sequence. There is great potential of cell culture to be use in the production of valuable secondary products. Plant tissue culture is a noble approach to obtain these substances in large scale.
Plant cell culture has made great advances. Perhaps the most significant role that plant cell culture has to play in the future will be in its association with transgenic plants. The ability to accelerate the conventional multiplication rate can be of great benefit to many countries where a disease or some climatic disaster wipes out crops. The loss of genetic resources is a common story when germplasm is held in field genebanks. Slow growth in vitro storage and cryopreservation are being proposed as solutions to the problems inherent in field genebanks. If possible, they can be used with field genebanks, thus providing a secure duplicate collection. They are the means by which future generations will be able to have access to genetic resources for simple conventional breeding programmes, or for the more complex genetic transformation work. As such, it has a great role to play in agricultural development and productivity.
13. Commonly used terms in tissue culture
Adventitious: development of organs such as buds, leaves, roots, shoots and somatic embryos from shoot and root tissues and callus.
Agar:Natural gelling agent made from algae
Aseptic technique: procedures used to prevent the introduction of microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, virusesand phytoplasmas into cell, tissue and organ cultures, and cross contamination of cultures.
Autoclave:A machine capable of sterilizing by steam under pressure
Axenic culture: a culture without foreign or undesired life forms but may include the deliberate co-culture with different types of cells, tissues or organisms.
Callus: an unorganized mass of differentiated plant cells.
Cell culture: culture of cells or their maintenance in vitro including the culture of single cells.
Chemically defined medium: a nutritive solution or substrate for culturing cells in which each component is specified.
Clonal propagation: asexual multiplication of plants from a single individual or explant.
Clones: a group of plants propagated from vegetative parts, which have been derived by repeated propagation from a single individual. Clones are considered to be genetically uniform.
Contamination: infected by unwanted microorganisms incontrolled environment
Cryopreservation: ultra-low temperature storage of cells, tissues, embryos and seeds.
Culture: A plant growing in vitro in a sterile environment
Differentiated: cultured cells that maintain all or much of the specialized structure and function typical of the cell type in vivo.
Embryo culture: In vitro culture of isolated mature or immature embryos.
Explant: an excised piece or part of a plant used to initiate a tissue culture.
Ex vitro: Organisms removed from tissue culture and transplanted; generally plants to soil or potting mixture.
Hormone: Generally naturally occurring chemicals that strongly affect plant growth
In Vitro: To be grown in glass
In Vivo: To be grown naturally
Laminar Flow Hood: An enclosed work area where the air is cleaned using HEPA filters
Medium: a solid or liquid nutritive solution used for culturing cells
Meristem: a group of undifferentiated cells situated at the tips of shoots, buds and roots, which divide actively and give rise to tissue and organs.
Micropropagation: multiplication of plants from vegetative parts by using tissue culture nutrient medium.
Propagule: a portion of an organism (shoot, leaf, callus, etc.) used for propagation.
Somatic embryos: non-zygotic bipolar embryo-like structures obtained from somatic cells.
Subculture: the aseptic division and transfer of a culture or portion of that culture to a fresh synthetic media.
Tissue culture: in vitro culture of cells, tissues, organs and plants under aseptic conditions on synthetic media.
Totipotency: capacity of plant cells to regenerate whole plants when cultured on appropriate media.
Transgenic: plants that have a piece of foreign DNA
Undifferentiated: cells that have not transformed into specialized tissues
14. Abbreviations
BAP 6-benylaminopurine
2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
EDTA Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
GA3Gibberellic acid
IAA Indole-3-acetic acid
IBA lndole-3-butyric acid
NAA Naphthaleneacetic acid
KN Kinetin