Plant Tissue Culture at STA

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School students are actively engaged as partners of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Coalition.  This partnership includes several programs that foster inquiry (STA Science Fair, STA Global Issues Conference on Technology, International Science Fair, American Mathematical Competitions, DNA extraction).  In addition, STA has opened a “Plant Tissue Culture Lab” using micropropagation, a technique that produces whole plants in-vitro from small sections of a plant such as a stem tip, node, meristem or embryo.  Micropropagation exploits the ability of plants to reproduce asexually.  This technique allows the regeneration of plants from single cells or tissues.  It is a useful laboratory technique that can help save a species from extinction or produce large quantities of identical plants with an economical significance.

The experiment at the STA Plant Tissue Culture Lab involves “Manila Banana” where four groups of two students each are preparing explants and sterile growth media in 16 test tubes.  Students will be collecting observation data on a daily basis.

STA is grateful to Dr. George Wall and Ms. Alicia Wiecko of the University of Guam for their technical support in establishing STA Plant Tissue Culture Lab.