Read the passage and answer the following questions :

The Green Revolution successfully increased food production by threefold, but it still couldn't meet the demand of the growing human population. The increased yields were primarily attributed to the use of improved crop varieties, better management practices, and the application of agrochemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides. However, farmers in the developing world often find agrochemicals too expensive, and further improvements in yield using conventional breeding methods become challenging.To address the limitations of traditional breeding techniques, scientists developed a technology called tissue culture. Tissue culture involves the regeneration of whole plants from small plant parts (explants) that are grown in a controlled environment, such as a test tube, with specific nutrient media. This ability of explants to regenerate into whole plants is known as totipotency. The nutrient medium used in tissue culture contains carbon sources like sucrose, inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids, and growth regulators like auxins and cytokinins. By utilizing tissue culture techniques, a large number of plants can be propagated rapidly and efficiently, a process known as micro-propagation. These plants are genetically identical to the original plant from which the explants were obtained, making them somaclones. Many important food plants, such as tomato, banana, and apple, have been commercially produced using tissue culture. Another significant application of tissue culture is the recovery of healthy plants from diseased ones. Even if a plant is infected with a virus, the meristem (apical and axillary) regions remain free of the virus. Scientists can remove the virus-free meristem and grow it in vitro to obtain virus-free plants

The capacity of a cell/explant to give rise to a whole plant is known as:

Totipotency

The correct answer is Option (1) -Totipotency

Explanation:

Totipotency refers to the remarkable ability of a cell or explant to give rise to a whole plant when cultured under appropriate conditions. This property allows a single cell or small tissue sample (explant) to differentiate into all the different cell types and tissues needed to form a complete, viable plant.

In tissue culture, when an explant is placed in a nutrient-rich medium containing essential nutrients, vitamins, and growth regulators, it undergoes cell division and organogenesis, leading to the development of new shoots, roots, and eventually a whole plant. This process is facilitated by the totipotent nature of the cells in the explant.

Totipotency plays a crucial role in various plant biotechnology applications, such as micro-propagation, where large numbers of genetically identical plants are produced from a single explant, and somacloning, where somatic cells are used to generate new plants. It also allows for the regeneration of plants from small plant parts, like meristems, which are essential in developing disease-free plants.

Overall, totipotency is a fundamental concept in plant tissue culture and has significant implications for plant propagation, breeding, and genetic engineering research.