Amanita muscaria (fly agaric)

By Shweta Kumawat 

Department of Botany, M.Sc. Botany(Mycology).

Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune

Maharashtra, India.

About this species

Fly agaric was first portrayed via Carl Linnaeus (Swedish botanist and the dad of current scientific categorization) in 1753, as Agaricus muscarius, the designation getting from the Latin 'musca, or "Tly, clearly alluding to its utilization in parts of Europe as a bug spray, squashed in milk for pulling in and murdering flies. It is among the most notorious of the toadstools, usually portrayed in youngsters' books and on Christmas cards the world over. It is exceptionally unmistakable and, at any rate, when new and in great condition, can barely be mistaken for some other species. Its stimulating properties have been notable for quite a long time, and the species has a long history of utilization in strict and shamanistic customs, particularly in Siberia. It is a typical and boundless growth, local to a large part of the north-calm world, and a significant ectomycorrhizal partner of different broadleaved and coniferous trees. Its fruitbodies are likewise used by a wide assortment of flies (Diptera) and by certain bugs (Coleoptera) as reproducing locales.

Geography and distribution

Boundless in north-mild districts, all through Europe, Iceland, northern Asia - including Siberia and Korea - North Africa, and western North America. Unintentionally brought with ranger service into South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In certain spots were presented it is considered a home species in_native forests where it ranches mycorrhizas with local trees, including types of Nothofogus, and antagonistically influences local parasites.

Uses

Fly agaric is notable to contain psychoactive alkaloids and has a long history of utilization in Asia and parts of northern Europe for strict and recreational purposes. It has likewise been related to 'Soma', a consecrated and stimulating ceremony drink utilized for strict purposes in India and Iran from as right on time as 2000 B.C., and the subject of a Hindu strict psalm, the Apparatus Veda. The character of Soma is questionable however is thought by the American creator Robert Wasson to be produced using A. muscaria. Since bygone eras fly agaric has likewise supposedly been utilized to pull in and slaughter flies and the ibotenic corrosive it contains is for sure a powerless bug spray. As per the English mycologist John Ramsbottom, it was likewise utilized in Britain and Sweden for disposing of bugs. Other recounted employments of fly agaric incorporate its utilization as a treatment for sore throats, and joint pain, and pain-relieving. Fruitbodies likewise give a significant food hotspot for spineless creatures, particularly for the larval phases of Diptera's scope (flies), especially in the families Anthomyidae, Cecidomyilidae, Heleomyzidae, Mycetophilidae, and some Syrphidae.

Toxicity of Fly Agaric

Fly agaric is psychoactive and psychedelic, containing the alkaloids muscimol, ibotenic corrosive, and muscazone, which respond with synapse receptors in the focal sensory system. These reasons psychotropic harming which might be extreme now and again in spite of the fact that passings are uncommon. It likewise contains limited quantities of muscarine, the primary poison to be disengaged from a mushroom, and first secluded from this species. This causes sweat-prompting harming, animating the secretory organs, and actuating manifestations that incorporate bountiful salivation and perspiring. These manifestations can be treated by utilizing atropine yet this ought not to be utilized in instances of Amanita muscaria harming on the grounds that it expands the movement of muscimol.

Development of Greens in Glass: Science of Plant Tissue Culture

Maize embryo growing in a glass vial 

Plant tissue culture collects techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues, or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition. It is widely used to produce clones of a plant in a method known as micropropagation.

Various techniques in plant tissue culture can offer certain advantages over conventional methods of propagation, including:

• Precise copies of plants growing especially good flowers, fruits, or other desirable traits.

• Produce mature plants rapidly.

• Production of several plants without seeds or pollinators to grow seeds.

• Regenerating entire plants from genetically-modified plant cells.

• Production of plants in sterile containers allowing them to travel with drastically reduced chances of transmitting diseases, pests, and pathogens.

• Production of seed plants otherwise with meager chances of germination and growth, i.e., orchids and Nepenthes.

• Cleaning particular viral and other infection plants and rapidly multiplying them as 'cleaned stock' for horticulture and agriculture.
• Development of improved varieties
• Disease-free plant growth (virus)
• Transformation of genomes
• Secondary metabolite synthesis
• Varieties tolerant to salinity, drought, and heat stress

Plant tissue culture depends on many plant cells being able to regenerate a whole plant (totipotency). Single cells, plant cells without cell walls (protoplasts), pieces of leaves, stems, or roots may also be used to produce a new plant on crop media due to the nutrients and hormones required.

Plant Tissues, also known as explants, are harvested from selected high yielding varieties or mother plants and are grown in a medium of known composition under sterile conditions.

It is then induced to divide and expand into a full plant. This method allows several new plantlets to be created, unlike the conventional nursery, which is dependent on seed alone.  

The T.Y. B.Sc. student filling the MS medium into the glass vial in a laminar hood

Plant Tissue Culture has made a significant contribution to meeting the ever-increasing demands of new plants in the fields of agriculture, forestry, horticulture, and medicine.

Growth initiation of Maize embryo inside the glass vials 

India has about 200 commercially active tissue culture firms. Approximately 500 million plantlets can be generated annually by these companies. Plant Tissue Culture has made a major contribution to food, feed, fiber, and fuel production. It has emerged as a commercially viable tool for the rapid production of high-quality, disease-free plants that yield high yields regardless of the season.

Fully developing plumule & radicles inside the glass vials.

Today's farmers worldwide grow banana, potato, cane, apple, pineapple, strawberry, gerbera, anthurium, orchids, bamboo, date palm, teak, and pomegranate with tissue culture.

The fascinating story of how growing plants in the test tube changed the agricultural landscape.

T.Y. B.Sc. student inoculating the maize embryo in aseptic condition

Plant tissue culture collects techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues, or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition.
Here in this video, one technique of Plant Tissue Culture is explained: maize 🌽 embryo culture.
In this video, you can see how nicely the maze embryo developed into the plumule and radicle.
Maize (Zea mays) is a Monocot seed grows on M. S. MEDIUM in the UG and PG departments of Botany because it's a part of their practice.
I purposely have chosen this technique because we couldn't see the germination of seed. After all, it takes place below the ground; seeing an embryo's development on M. S. Medium is a very pleasurable thing.

https://youtu.be/upbffbwG_JI

Plant Tissue Culture

History of Plant Tissue Culture Technology

Plant tissue culture research takes root from cell discovery, followed by cell theory propounding. In 1838, Schleiden and Schwann suggested that cell be the fundamental unit of all living organisms. They visualized that cell is capable of autonomy, and therefore if, given an environment, it should be possible for each cell to regenerate into a whole plant. Centered on this idea, Gottlieb Haberlandt, a German physiologist first attempted to cultivate isolated single palisade cells from leaves in knop's salt solution enriched with sucrose in 1902. Cells remained alive for up to a month, increased in size, accumulated starch but failed to divide. Though unsuccessful, he laid the foundation for tissue culture technology for which he is considered the father of plant tissue culture.