# Meristem culture

> Meristem culture is tissue culture from the tiny dome of dividing cells at a shoot tip, used to regenerate plants free of viroids and viruses.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/meristem-culture.html
- Also written: meristem tip culture, shoot tip culture, meristem cleaning, meristem propagation
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Supported
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Meristem culture is a [tissue culture](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/tissue-culture.md) technique that starts from the [apical meristem](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/apical-meristem.md): the dome of actively dividing cells at the very tip of a shoot, often under 0.5 mm with one or two leaf [primordia](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pre-flower.md). Because many [viroids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/viroid.md) and [viruses](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/plant-virus.md) are absent or scarce in this tissue, plants regenerated from it can be free of an infection that the mother carries.

## In practice

It is the main method of cleaning cannabis clones infected with [hop latent viroid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hop-latent-viroid.md). The meristem is excised under magnification in sterile conditions, grown on gel into a plantlet, multiplied, then tested. Success is not guaranteed: some plantlets still carry the pathogen, so each line must be tested (often more than once) before it is called clean. Combining meristem culture with heat or cold treatment can improve elimination rates in other crops.

Meristem culture keeps organised tissue, so the risk of [somaclonal variation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/somaclonal-variation.md) is lower than with callus-based methods.

## Don't confuse with

- **Tissue culture (general)**: can use nodes, leaves or callus, not just the meristem.
- **Meristem (anatomy)**: the growing tissue itself; meristem culture is the lab technique.

## Myth check

A tired old cut is usually sick, not mutated or drifted. Cleaning it through meristem culture and testing often restores its vigour. See [hop latent viroid and viruses](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/diseases/hop-latent-viroid-and-viruses.md).

## Related terms

[Tissue culture](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/tissue-culture.md), [Somaclonal variation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/somaclonal-variation.md), [Clone-only](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/clone-only.md), [Genetic drift](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genetic-drift.md)

## Read more

- [Tissue culture basics for cannabis growers and breeders](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/tissue-culture-basics.md)
- [Hop latent viroid (HLVd, 'dudding') and other cannabis viruses](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/diseases/hop-latent-viroid-and-viruses.md)

## Sources

1. Monthony AS, Page SR, Hesami M, Jones AMP. 2021. The past, present and future of Cannabis sativa tissue culture. Plants 10(1):185. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10010185