Thinking inside the Box: Tissue Culture for Plant Propagation in a Key Ecological Species, <i>Andropogon gerardii</i>

Abstract

Intraspecific diversity has widespread effects on ecological communities and ecosystems. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying these effects, manipulative studies require a rigorous and efficient empirical approach. Yet, replicating sufficient numbers of genetically identical individuals remains a challenge. As a result, we are limited in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the ecological effects of intraspecific diversity. In contrast, large sample sizes are routinely produced in horticultural research using micropropagation, or tissue culture. In order to determine the potential usefulness of micropropagation technique for ecological studies, we investigated the efficiency and efficacy of micropropagation on the ecologically important non-model C4 grass species, <i> Andropogon gerardii </i> . Our preliminary results demonstrate that micropropagation is a rapid and effective technique for producing large numbers of genetically identical clones at up to 100 times the rate of traditional propagation. Key intraspecific differences among clones of <i> A. gerardii </i> were also retained through the micropropagation process. Given that traditional techniques used to test the effects of intraspecific diversity manipulations are time-limiting (greenhouse propagation) or can be biologically misrepresentative (seeds) for some species, we suggest that micropropagation might be a powerful tool for advancing ecological genetics studies in many plant systems.