I have to do various types of phenotypic and physiological assays after the abiotic stress treatment on the transgenic tobacco plants. For that i have to grow them in plant media containing the stress factors like mannitol, nacl etc. Should the media also contain sucrose?
Overall, you can do the experiment either way. Just choose with or without sucrose and keep good notes. If you have lots of time and reagents you could try both options as a comparison. Be sure note in your methods section the exact media used.
Personally, I'd leave it out. Seeds and seedlings don't need sucrose added sucrose, and anything green is photosynthetic.
If you do use it, you risk fungal growth and mold contamination issues.
Whether you should use sucrose in cultivation depends on your actual growing condition. If you grow them in vitro in a tightly sealed container, generally you'll have to supply sucrose for plants to grow as they don't have access to CO2 for photosynthesis. If you grow them ex vitro like in hydroponics, you wouldn't need - and wouldn't want - to use sucrose in medium as it will cause microorganism contamination.
In terms of effects of sucrose on abiotic stress, again it depends. Generally adding sucrose will help the plant withstand the stress and survive better by supplying them with energy while their photosynthesis is impaired by stress. However, for certain stress like salinity, adding more solutes in the medium can increase osmotic pressure and exacerbate the stress even more.
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