# Tissue culture

> Tissue culture is growing small pieces of a plant on sterile nutrient gel in a sealed vessel, used to multiply, clean up and store cannabis genotypes.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/tissue-culture.html
- Also written: plant tissue culture, micropropagation, in vitro propagation, tissue culturing
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Established
- 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"

Tissue culture is propagating plants from small pieces of tissue ([shoot tips](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/apical-meristem.md), nodes or meristems) placed on sterile nutrient gel containing sugars and plant growth regulators, in sealed containers under controlled light and temperature. It can multiply a [genotype](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genotype.md), produce pathogen-free plantlets and store genetics in a small space (Monthony et al. 2021).

## In practice

For cannabis, tissue culture is mainly a preservation and clean-stock tool. A library of jars can hold many genotypes on a shelf, needing re-culture every few weeks to months instead of a room of [mothers](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/mother-plant.md). Combined with [meristem culture](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/meristem-culture.md) and testing, it is the main route to cleaning a cut of [hop latent viroid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hop-latent-viroid.md).

It is demanding work. Sterile technique is essential, contamination from fungi and bacteria is common, and some cultivars multiply or root poorly. [Regeneration](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/re-veg.md) from callus raises the risk of [somaclonal variation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/somaclonal-variation.md), so preservation labs prefer shoot-tip or node culture and verify plantlets afterwards.

## Don't confuse with

- **Cloning (cuttings)**: rooting stem cuttings in a medium, non-sterile and simpler.
- **Meristem culture**: a specific tissue culture technique using the tiny growing tip.
- **Genetic engineering**: changing DNA; tissue culture alone does not.

## Related terms

[Meristem culture](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/meristem-culture.md), [Somaclonal variation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/somaclonal-variation.md), [Clone-only](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/clone-only.md), [Germplasm](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/germplasm.md), [Polyploid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/polyploid.md)

## Read more

- [Tissue culture basics for cannabis growers and breeders](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/tissue-culture-basics.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