Murashige & Skoog Medium

Murashige and Skoog Medium, commonly called MS Medium. It is the most common plant tissue culture medium. It was first formulated by Toshio Murashige and Folke Skoog in 1962. It is widely used in plant biotechnology due to its composition. This nutrient-rich medium promotes the growth of both monocot and dicot plant species. This medium contains macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, and sucrose as an energy source, which makes it suitable for a range of plant species. All these components collectively induce cell division, callus induction, shoot multiplication, and root development. It also contains ammonium and nitrate, which helps in enhancing the biomass development and vigour of the plantlets. Plant species required different components for their growth and even different components at some developmental stages. To fulfil plant requirements, this medium can be mixed with plant growth regulators such as NAA, IAA, IBA, BAP, Kinetin, and more.

The MS Medium is used globally for various purposes, including forest tree micropropagation, horticultural crops, medicinal crops, and agricultural crops. It is suitable for various applications, including in vitro propagation, genetic transformation studies, somatic embryogenesis, organogenesis, regeneration of plants from explants or protoplasts, the production of secondary metabolites, and the conservation of germplasm.

At mymicrolab.com it is available in powder form. The powder medium needs to be autoclaved before use. The formulation can be used as a broth (without agar) or as a solid medium after the addition of agar. It can be used in any type of culture vessel, whether petri dishes, flasks, or culture tubes.

Its standard composition and reproducibility make it a preferred medium in schools, commercial plant laboratories, and research institutes.