If the plant is infected with virus, which part of the plant can be used to obtain virus-free plants?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Meristem
Plants can be grown from a small part of the plant in a test tube, in a nutrient medium. This is tissue culture. A virus spreads through most parts of an infected plant, but not into the growing tips.
(1) Meristem — Correct. Even if the plant is infected, the meristem (apical and axillary) is free of virus. It can be removed and grown in vitro to get virus-free plants. This has been done with banana, sugarcane and potato.
(2) Stem — Incorrect. An ordinary piece of stem is part of the infected plant body, so it can carry the virus.
(3) Leaves — Incorrect. Leaves are also part of the infected body and may carry the virus.
(4) Apical part of roots — Incorrect. The virus-free parts named are the apical and axillary meristems of the shoot, not the root tip.
NCERT Extract:
Biotechnological Applications in Agriculture – …
