Colony Cultures: Plating Efficiency Assay and Cloning

The premise of colony culturing is the assumption that single viable cells can attach to the substratum, divide, and form a progeny of cells that constitute a cell colony or clone. Colony cultures can be initiated either from a disaggregated cell suspension made directly from animal tissue, or from primary or secondary cultures or cell lines. Colonies, especially ones initiated directly from tissues, are not all identical. They vary in the morphology of their cells, and in their size and compactness. The morphology and size of the colony depends on the kinds of cells plated, interactions between cells, the degree of their differentiation, the cell generation time, the composition of the medium, the type of substratum, and the physical conditions to which the cells are subjected.