What is the significance of the 'passage number' in cell culture?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the significance of the 'passage number' in cell culture?
It indicates the age of the cells
It refers to the number of times cells have been subcultured
It measures cell viability
It determines the growth rate of the cells
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the significance of the 'passage number' in cell culture?
Step 1: Understand what cell culture is. Cell culture is the process of growing cells in a controlled environment outside of their natural setting.
Step 2: Learn about subculturing. Subculturing is when you take some cells from a culture and transfer them to a new container with fresh growth medium to allow them to grow further.
Step 3: Know what passage number means. The passage number is a count of how many times the cells have been subcultured. For example, if cells are subcultured for the first time, their passage number is 1.
Step 4: Recognize the importance of passage number. As cells are subcultured more times, they can change in characteristics. Keeping track of the passage number helps researchers know how many times the cells have been transferred and if they might behave differently.
Step 5: Understand that maintaining cell characteristics is crucial. Some experiments require cells to have specific traits, and knowing the passage number helps ensure that the cells used are appropriate for the study.
