Question

Somaclonal variation appears in

• A. Organisms produced through somatic hybridization
• B. Plants growing in highly polluted conditions
• C. Apomictic plants
• D. Tissue culture raised plants

Answer 1

The correct option is D Tissue culture raised plants

Variations seen in tissue culture raised plants are termed as a somaclonal variation; it is induced by growing callus or cell suspension cultures for several cycles to produce a large number of plants followed by screening for desirable traits in the regenerated plants and their progenies. Reproduction by special sporophytic or gametophytic generative tissues without fertilization (fusion of male and female gamete) is known as apomixis. It is a mode of asexual reproduction in flowering plants and hence produces clones, not variations. Plants growing in highly polluted areas show pollutant-induced characters, like yellowing of leaves etc, but these environmental induced variations are non-heritable. Somatic hybridization refers to the fusion of somatic cells of two different species/organisms to produce a somatic hybrid carrying the genes from both parents without the involvement of sexual fusion.

Thus, the correct answer is option D.