Hi Bill, We have used activated when we had plant material that browned from phenolic type compounds that inhibited plant regeneration. We also used it for species that we had difficulty rooting. So, in these cases most likely an absorptive or neutralizing type of action.
I’m not familiar with the information you shared regarding its use to develop a desiccation medium. Here is a link for a publication you might find helpful on the role of activated charcoal in plant tissue culture https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0734975008000864?via%3Dihub Best regards, Joyce From: <bounce-128121630-97181...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Bill PETERSEN <wpeter...@wisc.edu> Reply-To: Bill PETERSEN <wpeter...@wisc.edu> Date: Monday, April 1, 2024 at 9:51 AM To: PLANTGENEMEMBERFORUM-L <PLANTGENEMEMBERFORUM-L@list.cornell.edu> Subject: Activate charcoal in plant tissue culture media Dear group, What is the function of activated charcoal in plant tissue culture medium? What is the mode of action? Activated charcoal in medium puzzles me. Activated charcoal will chelate some elements in the medium. Does this make the nutrients more easily available? Or bind them and prevent movement to the plant tissue? In the paper Mukami et al. 2022 "Plant regeneration from leaf mesophyll derived protoplasts of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz)", the authors describe a medium with the addition of 0.4 g/l activated charcoal as being a desiccation medium. Why might a small amount of activated charcoal added to a water-based medium be termed a desiccating medium? Bill Petersen Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center. University of Wisconsin - Madison
