Hi everyone. Is the use of Phytagel better than agar in Plant tissue culture? I work with stevia and sugarcane, does anybody have experience in these crops in vitro? Or does anybody prefer the use of agar instead of Phytagel at any other crop? Why?
Thanks in advance.
Well, it seems to depend on the species and cultivar you work with. I like Phytagel, in part because it allows me to see the roots. In my experience, Phytagel is a more consistent product than the range of agars.
As tissue culture tends to be pricey, folks often don't change up the medium unless it is needed for optimization.
Dear Montserrat Aguilar-Venegas it's your choice. Gellan gums (Phytage, Gelrite) need divalent cations (Mg, Ca) to form the gel. It does mean than Ca and Mg from culture media is "used" for gellan gums to jellifying. Thus, depending of species, you could face some disorders in your in vitro materials (hyperhidricity, apical death...) because deficiencies of Ca and Mg. Certainly, gellan gums are “cheaper” than agar. Additionally, gellan gum have more transparency than agar, facilitating to detect contaminations.
It's been a while since I was active in tissue culture, but it's a relevant question that everyone bumps into. Sometimes differences in the degree of hyperhydricity (vitrification) may also occur between media with Phytagel/Gelrite and Agar. With the former, the problem can be greater (see e.g. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00029573) but there are many other factors that can have an influence to solve the problem (e.g. bottom cooling, NH4/NO3 ratio, sugar concentration, sometimes additives like phloroglucinol can help, ...). It is advisable to set up some tests and see what fits best within your protocols.
In my experience Montserrat Aguilar-Venegas I like to use Phytagel before selection and after selection agar shows better results in sugarcane.
If costs are not relevant, use the more relevant to your plant species...
For sugar can, I know Plantform bioreactor is the most efficient economically.
i have used agar and phytogel. Agar is more variable, depending on brand and even batch with in same brand. if it is highly purified, it will be prohibitive in commercial production.
Hyperhydricity can be problem with phytogel. It is all depend on genotype . you need to
test.
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