• The steps for preparing a plant tissue culture involve the use of a DNA sample, a growth agent and a host organism.dna image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
  
  Plant tissue cultures consist of DNA molecules cloned for a particular purpose. Tissue cultures can provide new strains of DNA or serve as a sample for research purposes. Also known as recombinant DNA technology, the steps involved require a host cell environment, a growth vector material and a means for identifying the clones that result from the process.
  
  

Gene Isolation

• The steps in plant tissue culture techniques attempt to identify how particular genes within a DNA strand affect cell building processes by cloning portions of a DNA strand. Scientists can also use these techniques to combine DNA materials from two different organisms to create a hybrid strain of genetic code, according to Galafilm, an educational documentary resource site. In order to create a tissue culture, scientists must first isolate a specific gene or genes from one or more DNA strands. Using specialized chemicals called restriction enzymes, they can cut a strand in the exact location that corresponds with a specific gene segment. When combining two different segments together, scientists apply another enzyme material that seals the ends of the two segments together.
  
  

Vector Transfer

• The DNA cloning process requires a vector, or growth agent, to stimulate cell division activities within a tissue culture, according to the National Health Museum. Once scientists have isolated a particular gene fragment from its DNA strand, they insert or attach it to a vector growth agent. Organisms such as bacteria or viruses can serve as vectors because of their natural ability to engage in cell division processes. Transfer methods use the plasmid portion of a bacteria's or virus' DNA material, which are just small rings of DNA code. According to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, scientists can join the DNA sample and the plasmid segment using enzyme materials, which is the same process used to join two different DNA segments together. Once they have joined the DNA segment and vector, scientists implant them inside another bacteria cell that acts as the host organism.
  
  

Cloning Process

• The resulting plant tissue culture consists of the actual cloned DNA segments, which can multiply at fast rates depending on the type of vector agent used. The next step in the process requires scientists to identify which portions of the tissue culture developed as a result of the DNA sample material, according to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As DNA codes use a corresponding RNA code to do the actual cell building activities, scientists use these RNA code fragments to localize the corresponding DNA codes within the tissue culture. By applying a radioactive coating to the RNA fragments, scientists can identify cloned DNA portions based on how the RNA fragments bind to different areas within a tissue culture.