Explant culture
Encyclopedia
In biology
, explant culture is a technique used for the isolation of cells
from a piece or pieces of tissue
. Tissue harvested in this manner is called an explant. It can be a portion of the shoot, leaves, or some cell
s from a plant, or can be any part of the tissue from an animal.
In brief, the tissue is harvested in a sterile
manner, often minced, and pieces placed in a cell culture
dish containing growth media. Over time, progenitor cell
s migrate out of the tissue onto the surface of the dish. These primary cells can then be further expanded and transferred into fresh dishes.
Explant culture can also refer to the culturing of the tissue
pieces themselves, where cells are left in their surrounding extracellular matrix
to more accurately mimic the in vivo
environment e.g. cartilage
explant culture.
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, explant culture is a technique used for the isolation of cells
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
from a piece or pieces of tissue
Biological tissue
Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...
. Tissue harvested in this manner is called an explant. It can be a portion of the shoot, leaves, or some cell
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
s from a plant, or can be any part of the tissue from an animal.
In brief, the tissue is harvested in a sterile
Sterilization (microbiology)
Sterilization is a term referring to any process that eliminates or kills all forms of microbial life, including transmissible agents present on a surface, contained in a fluid, in medication, or in a compound such as biological culture media...
manner, often minced, and pieces placed in a cell culture
Cell culture
Cell culture is the complex process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions. In practice, the term "cell culture" has come to refer to the culturing of cells derived from singlecellular eukaryotes, especially animal cells. However, there are also cultures of plants, fungi and microbes,...
dish containing growth media. Over time, progenitor cell
Progenitor cell
A progenitor cell is a biological cell that, like a stem cell, has a tendency to differentiate into a specific type of cell, but is already more specific than a stem cell and is pushed to differentiate into its "target" cell...
s migrate out of the tissue onto the surface of the dish. These primary cells can then be further expanded and transferred into fresh dishes.
Explant culture can also refer to the culturing of the tissue
Biological tissue
Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...
pieces themselves, where cells are left in their surrounding extracellular matrix
Extracellular matrix
In biology, the extracellular matrix is the extracellular part of animal tissue that usually provides structural support to the animal cells in addition to performing various other important functions. The extracellular matrix is the defining feature of connective tissue in animals.Extracellular...
to more accurately mimic the in vivo
In vivo
In vivo is experimentation using a whole, living organism as opposed to a partial or dead organism, or an in vitro controlled environment. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research...
environment e.g. cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
explant culture.