Mechanisms and Effects of Plant Hormones in Organogenesis

Mechanisms and Effects of Plant Hormones in Organogenesis Abstract Plant tissue culture plays important roles in agriculture field by improving the production and quality of crops using recombinant DNA technology. The mechanisms and effects of plant hormones in promoting organogenesis in different types of plants are only partially understood. Using petunia leaves and carrot, the effects of auxin and cytokinin were investigated by carrying out organogenesis. The leaves and carrots were placed in NAA, kinetin and BAP in few combinations of different ratio for 5 weeks and were observed for any growth of roots and shoots. The results showed that petunia leaves and carrot slices placed in high NAA formed roots but no shoots were formed while only callus and shoots were formed for those in high kinetin or BAP. The petunia leaves in BAP also formed shoots while no shoots were found for those placed in kinetin. This indicated that NAA promotes root formation while kinetin and BAP stimulates shoot emergence and balanced composition of auxin and cytokinin wi ll initiate both roots and shoots formation. Also, BAP was found to be more effective in promoting shoot formation as compared to kinetin. Further research has to be carried out using different auxin and cytokinin on more plant species with longer period of time. Keywords: Plant tissue culture, Auxin, Cytokinin, NAA, BAP, kinetin, petunia leaves, carrot, roots, shoots Introduction: Plant tissue culture is a set of laboratory procedures that involve in-vitro growing of plant cells, tissues and organs using the nutrient medium in sterile conditions (Chawla, 2009). Plant tissue culture plays important roles in crop improvement as it improves the quality of plants by exploiting the genetic information of the plants through genetic engineering (Brown Thorpe, 1995). Advantageous traits can also be screened and inserted to the plants with this method to make the plants resistant to herbicide and pesticide and even more tolerant to the harsh environment. This in turn increases the production of crops with lesser input of cost and energy. Besides that, plant tissue culture also plays important roles in biodiversity conservation. This is because with recombinant DNA technology, endangered species of plants can be cloned and prevented from extinction. It also helps in studying the plant evolution as it allows the genetic relationship of distantly related species to be id entified. According to Thiel et al. (2008), plant hormones are largely involved in influencing the cellular differentiation in plant tissue culture. They are organic compounds that regulate the growth and development of target cells. There are five main types of plant hormones which are the auxin, cytokinin, gibberellins, abscisic acid and ethylene. Auxin is the hormone that causes the plants to carry out cell division and elongation (Chawla, 2009). It also involves in differentiation of callus which causes the emergence of roots first meanwhile inhibiting shoot formation. It is found to inhibit the abscisic acid activities but stimulate the synthesis of ethylene. In contrast, cytokinin promotes shoot formation but suppress the formation of roots (Chawla, 2009). Gibberellins involves in the elongation or regeneration of existing meristems. Besides that, abscisic acid influences the embryogenesis but suppresses growth. In seeds, abscisic acid often plays roles in retaining the seeds in dormancy . Ethylene is a gaseous chemical produced by amino acid and diffuses in the air to promote fruits ripening and abscission (Chawla, 2009). In this experiment, the carrot and petunia leaves were excised from the explants and were cultivated with plant tissue culture by carrying out organogenic differentiation in the MS media containing auxin (NAA) and cytokinin (kinetin or BAP). The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the effects of auxin and cytokinin in different concentrations ratios on the organogenesis of petunia leaves and carrots. The differences between kinetin and BAP on the growth of petunia leaves and carrots were also studied and compared. Materials and methods: In this experiment, two different types of plants were used which are the petunia leaves and carrots. For the petunia leaves, 18 robust and healthy leaves were excised using the sterilized forceps and scalpel. These leaves were soaked in the 10% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite for not more than 5 minutes and were rinsed thrice with sterile water in a laminar flow cabinet. Meanwhile, 8 petri dishes containing the Murashige-Skoog (MS) media for tissue culture supplemented with different combination of cytokinin and auxin concentration which were the NAA: Kinetin and NAA: BAP with ratio 2:0, 0.5:1, 1:0.5 and 0:2 respectively were labeled. Besides that, a control petri dish with MS media without supplement of any plant hormones was also set up. For each of these 9 petri dishes, 2 petunia leaves were placed with the abaxial surface in contact with the MS media. The procedure was repeated with carrots slices which were cut from the carrot with sterilized forceps and scalpel. 3 carrot slices were placed on each of the petri dishes. The effects of the plant hormones on the petunia leaves and carrot slices were checked every three days for 5 weeks and the results were recorded. Any leaves or carrot slices contaminated with fungi were eliminated by transferring the uncontaminated leaves to the new petri dish MS media during the experiment. Discussion: From the result, it was shown that all the petunia leaves and carrot slices in all petri dish with NAA, kinetin or BAP formed callus. As proposed by Che et al. (2006), when the explants are transferred to culture media, plant hormones such as auxin and cytokinin will initiate callus formation. This shows that the NAA, kinetin and BAP have caused the leaves or carrot slices to differentiate into callus. As for the control petri dish without auxin and cytokinin, there should not have any callus, roots or shoots formed as plant hormones are needed in order to have callus formed from cell differentiation. The petunia leaves have no callus and roots but shoots were formed while the carrot slices form callus but not roots and shoots. This may due to the contamination of plants hormones during the excision and transferring of leaves to the MS media as the forceps and scalpel may not be sterilized properly. Roots were formed on the petunia leaves in 2:0 NAA and kinetin and 2:0 NAA and BAP. This appeared to be the same for the carrot slices in 2:0 NAA and kinetin and 2:0 NAA and BAP as there were also roots formed. This is due to the high level of auxin which stimulates the transcription of auxin-responsive gene to promote root formation from the callus (Moubayidin et al., 2009). However, there was no shoot formed on all these leaves and carrot slices. This may due to the reason that the formation of shoot requires cytokinin and this hormone was absent. Hence, no shoots were formed. Also, the high level of auxin will suppress the shoot formation of the callus (Shimizu-sato et al., 2009). The petunia leaves in 1:0.5 NAA and BAP formed shoots and roots. The auxin induces the formation of roots while the cytokinin induces the formation of shoots. However, the petunia leaves in 1:0.5 NAA and kinetin did not form shoots and roots. This is because BAP is more effective than kinetin in initiating shoot formation as it is the most active form of cytokinin (Khandel et al., 2011). Similarly, the carrot slices in 1:0.5 NAA and kinetin and 1:0.5 NAA and BAP did not form shoot and roots. According to Moubayidin et al. (2009), only balanced composition of auxin and cytokinin will causes the explants to form roots and shoots. Since the ratio of auxin and cytokinin used was 1:0.5 at which the concentration of cytokinin was lesser, the absence of shoots may due to low concentration of cytokinin which is insufficient to induce the formation of shoot on the leaves. Also, the presence of cytokinin which suppresses the differentiation in root meristematic cells may also inhibit the root from emerging (Moubayidin et al., 2009). The time taken for the experiment is also one of the reasons as the time may not be enough to see the shoot and root formation. As for the 0.5:1 NAA and kinetin, roots were found to form on the petunia leaves and carrot leaves in respectively as auxin which induces root formation was present. However, the leaves and carrot slices in 0.5:1 NAA and BAP did not have roots formation. Besides that, shoots were also formed on the petunia leaves placed on 0.5:1 NAA and BAP but this did not appear to be the same for leaves in 0.5:1 NAA and kinetin. As stated by Chawla (2009), cytokinin promotes the cell division and elongation of shoots. As compared to the leaves in 0.5:1 NAA and kinetin at which no shoots are formed, it can be seen that BAP than the kinetin is better in inducing shoot formation (Buah et al., 2010). The carrot slices in 0.5:1 NAA and kinetin or BAP did not form shoot. One possible reason for the absence of roots and shoot on petunia leaves and carrot slices is that there was not sufficient time for the shoot and root formation to be observed and longer time is required. It can also be seen that only the petunia leaves in 0:2 NAA and BAP showed the emergence of shoot. This indicated that cytokinin in the form of BAP acts in stimulating the cell division and differentiation to form shoot. The absence of shoots for the petunia leaves in 0:2 NAA and kinetin showed that kinetin is weaker in initiating shoot formation as compared to BAP. The rest of the petunia leaves and carrot slices in 2:0 NAA and kinetin and 2:0 NAA and BAP did not have shoots. This is because the time taken for the observation of the leaves and carrot was too short and the shoots were yet to emerge. All the leaves and carrot slices in 0:2 auxin to cytokinin did not have roots as NAA was not added to the media to promote root initiation and elongation. In this experiment, carrot slices and petunia leaves were used to study the effects of auxin and cytokinin. This was to allow comparisons of effectiveness of tissue culture using different types of explants to be done. As stated by Akin-Idowu et al. (2009), carrot is the root of a plant with actively-dividing meristematic cells and it provides advantages to successful tissue culture with higher mass of differentiated cells. Petunia leaves on the other hand contain less actively-dividing cells. Thus, the callus, root and shoot formation of carrot slices should be more as compared to that of petunia leaves. One of the leaves was removed in petri dish with 1:0.5 and 0:2 NAA and kinetin respectively. This is because the leaves were found to be infected with micro-organisms such as fungi due to contamination. This may cause the petunia leaves to die off, leading to unnoticeable effects of the kinetin and NAA on the growth of the leaves. According to Odutayo et al. (2007), the presence of microbes in the plant tissue culture retards shoots and roots formation. Thus, in order to get accurate results, the contaminated leaves were removed to prevent the spreading of the microbes to the other leaf on the petri dishes. The contamination of the tissues culture may due to insufficient sterilization of the forceps and scalpels used. Also, the petri dishes containing the MS media with the leaves may also not fully enclose which creates passage for the microbes to enter. Conclusion: In conclusion, high amount of NAA promotes root formation while inhibiting shoot formation. On the other hand, kinetin or BAP in high concentration initiates shoot formation but suppressing root formation. The absence of NAA causes no roots to be formed while the absence of kinetin or BAP causes no formation of shoots. The absence of roots on leaves or carrot slices with NAA or absence of shoot on leaves and carrot slices with kinetin or BAP may due to the reason that insufficient time was given to observe the plants and the roots and shoots were yet to emerge. BAP is more effective in stimulating the emergence of shoot as compared to kinetin as it is the most active cytokinin. Also, carrot is more effective than petunia leaves in tissue culture as it contains actively dicing meristematic cells.

A Comparison of Death Of A Salesman and Hamlet :: comparison compare contrast essays

A Comparison of Death Of A Salesman and Hamlet Willy Loman and Hamlet, two characters so alike, though different. Both are perfect examples of tragedy in literature, though for separate reasons and by distinct methods. The definition of a tragedy, in a nutshell, states that for a character to be considered tragic, he/she must be of high moral estate, fall to a level of catastrophe, induce sympathy and horror in the audience, and usually die, and in doing so, re-establish order in the society. Hamlet follows this to a "T". Death of a Salesman does not fall within these set guidelines but is still considered tragic for reasons, though different, somewhat parallel those of Hamlet's. Hamlet, a rich young price of high moral estate suddenly has his joyous life ripped away from him when his father, Hamlet Sr., suddenly passes away. Though originally thought to be of natural causes, it is later revealed to him through his father's ghost, that dear old dad was murdered by his Step-Father, and also his Uncle, Claudius. Vowing revenge upon his Uncle/Dad, Hamlet begins to mentally falter and eventually, is in such a wild rage that he accidentally kills Polonious believing him to be his father. Hilarity ensues. Ophelia, Hamlet's love interest, commits suicide/dies (that's up for debate elsewhere) after going slightly mad from the impact of her father's death, then Laertes, Polonius' son, arrives on the scene enraged and ready to kill Hamlet for what he's done, and just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, unbeknownst to Hamlet, Claudius has been plotting to kill him. Talk about your bad days. A duel takes place between Hamlet and Laertes where Laertes, using a poison-tipped sword, cuts Hamlet, thus giving way for his impending death. Hamlet eventually gets hold of the sword and kills Laertes, then kills King Claudius. Just as the play ends, Hamlet takes his last breath of air, appoints Fortinbras Jr. as the new King of Denmark, and dies. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, a salesman who believed himself to be a powerful man, has his life unravel before him as he loses his job, his sanity and the respect of those around him.

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With vast referencing to Allah in the various stories compiling The Arabian Nights, comparison of story to the teachings of the Quran are a warranted article for evaluation.   In the introductory story, Story of King Shahryar and His Brother, the King discovers his wife to be an adulteress and decides to bestow upon her punishment by execution. With his brother having suffered the same through the actions of his own wife, the king concludes that all women are not to be trusted and that the world would benefit through having a fewer number of them.   As a result of this resolve, he commits to marrying one virgin a night, taking her to his bed, and then having her killed in the morning.   This practice continues for years.   Sura 24, Al-NÃ… «r, of the Quran offers an excellent foundation to discover if the actions in the story coincide with the codes of conduct taught in Islam with respect to women’s role in marriage and in society. Systematically reviewing the Sura, one may conclude that no definitive variation is stated between women’s societal role and that of men.   However, her role of being a woman and what that means in respect to protecting herself and her chastity is addressed.   Instruction is given to men to â€Å"restrain their looks and guard their senses† (24:31-32).   This instruction is given also to women, with the addition of hiding their beauty and adornments from those outside of specified individuals, stating that the beauty and adornments of a woman are reserved for her husband. They are not to be concerned with showing themselves to those who either are too young to understand the relationship between man and woman, or individuals outside of the family who have no desire for women (24:31-32).   In the Story of King Shahryar and His Brother, the king’s wives are spoken of as being beautiful.   It does not make reference to how they are dressed, but the impression is made that they are not covered as instructed by the Quran.   This is not to suggest that the failure to cover is cause for their demise, but a simple observation. The actions of the younger brother, King of Samarkand, are an obvious and blatant rebellion against Islamic rule in accordance to Sura 24.   While the witnessing of a wife committing adultery by the husband alone is evidence for punishment, he must â€Å"bear witness four times in the name of Allah that he is telling the truth, and a fifth time that Allah’s curse be upon him if he lies† (24:7-11).   This younger brother took it upon himself to kill his wife, and mentioned nothing of the situation to anyone until he spoke of it to his brother some time later.   Though the eldest King, King Shahryar, was not the sole witness to his wife’s sin, his punishment of murder is not the instructed penalty. However, it is not this murder, but the many that took place daily thereafter, in conjunction with the terms of arrangement, which pose such a contradiction to Sura 24.   A man and a woman are to be arranged in marriage (24:33-35).   Again, this reflects equality between the sexes, as both are under the same instruction.   In the story, this arranged marriage is seen routinely between the King and his nightly bride.   The difference being that in the story, these women were given to him out of fear by their families.   This marriage arrangement was by the king more so than by the woman’s controlling figures. There are similarities between Story of King Shahryar and His Brother and the Quran, however, the differences are more severe.   It would be an act of ignorance to take any of the stories from The Arabian Nights and use them as an indicator of Islam and the teachings of the Quran.   This story did not accurately reflect what a marriage is in Islam, nor did it make reference to a woman’s role either in marriage, in society, or in self.   The story depicts a woman as somebody who can be assigned and given away much in the way you would assign or give away material property.   Such a story does not echo the lessons of Islam found Sura 24, or of Islam as a whole. References Burton, R. (1850). The Arabian Nights Khan, MZ. (1997) The Qur’an: Arabic text with a new translation by Muhammad Zafrulla KhanI. Brooklyn: Olive Branch Press

Domain Name Services essays

Domain Name Services essays We can all remember numbers, right? Sure, our telephone numbers, street addresses, and zip codes we can all remember. So why cant we remember IP addresses? I can remember some but, the public as a whole cant. Thats why we have domain name services and the InterNIC company. The parent to the InterNIC company is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It is a non-profit, private sector corporation dedicated to preserving the operational stability of the Internet and promoting competition. It used to be only one company that sold and managed top level domain names called Network Solutions. Today, there are over two hundred different companies that are accredited by ICANN to sell domains. In October of 1998, the United States Department of Commerce and Network Solutions, Inc. modified their agreement, under which Network Solutions had been the only registrar and registry administrator for the .com, .net, and .org top-level domains. This modification to their agreement required the establishment of a Shared Registration System. This system would allow an unlimited number of registrars to compete for domain name registration business. They would all still utilize one shared registry, which Network Solutions would continue to act as the sole administrator. In November of 1998, the Department of Commerce identified ICANN as the body that would oversee the transition to competition under the Shared Registration System. Part of ICANN's responsibilities included establishing and implementing a policy and procedure for registrar accreditation that would ensure a shift to a competitive domain name registration system providing continued Internet stability and domain-name durability. On March 4, 1999, the ICANN Board of Directors adopted a Statement of Registrar Accreditation Policy, which was developed from the publicly posted Draft Guidelines for Registrar Accr ...

Biography of Eratosthenes, Greek Geographer

Biography of Eratosthenes, Greek Geographer Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 276 BCE–192 or 194 BCE) was an ancient Greek mathematician, poet, and astronomer who is known as the father of geography. Eratosthenes was the first person to use the word geography and other geographical terms that are still in use today, and his efforts to calculate the circumference of the Earth and the distance from the Earth to the Sun paved the way for our modern understanding of the cosmos. Among his other many accomplishments were the creation of the first map of the world and the invention of an algorithm known as the sieve of Eratosthenes, which is used to identify prime numbers. Fast Facts: Eratosthenes Known For: Eratosthenes was a Greek polymath who became known as the father of geography.Born: c. 276 BCE in Cyrene (present-day Libya)Died: 192 or 196 BCE in Alexandria, Egypt Early Life Eratosthenes was born around 276 BCE in a Greek colony in Cyrene, a territory located in present-day Libya. He was educated at the academies of Athens and in 245 BCE, after earning attention for his skills, he was invited by Pharaoh Ptolemy III to run the Great Library at Alexandria in Egypt. This was a major opportunity, and Eratosthenes was excited to accept the position. In addition to being a mathematician and geographer, Eratosthenes was also a very gifted philosopher, poet, astronomer, and music theorist. He made several significant contributions to science, including the discovery that a year is slightly longer than 365 days, requiring an extra day- or leap day- be added to the calendar every four years to keep it consistent. Geography While serving as the head librarian and scholar at the Library of Alexandria, Eratosthenes wrote a comprehensive treatise about the world, which he called Geography. This was the first use of the word, which in Greek means writing about the world. Eratosthenes work introduced the concepts of torrid, temperate, and frigid climate zones. His map of the world, though highly inaccurate, was the first of its kind, featuring a grid of parallels and meridians used to estimate distances between different locations. Though Eratosthenes original Geography did not survive, modern scholars know what it contained thanks to reports by Greek and Roman historians. The first book of Geography contained a summary of existing geographical work and Eratosthenes speculations about the nature of the planet Earth. He believed it was a fixed globe whose changes only took place on the surface. The second book of Geography described the mathematical calculations he had used to determine the circumference of the Earth. The third contained a map of the world in which the land was divided into different countries; it is one of the earliest examples of political geography. Calculating the Circumference of the Earth Eratosthenes most famous contribution to science was his calculation of the circumference of the Earth, which he completed while working on the second volume of his Geography. After hearing about a deep well at Syene (near the Tropic of Cancer and modern-day Aswan) where sunlight only struck the bottom of the well on the summer solstice, Eratosthenes worked out a method by which he could calculate the circumference of the Earth using basic geometry. Knowing that the Earth was a sphere, he needed only two critical measurements to calculate the circumference. Eratosthenes already knew the approximate distance between Syene and Alexandria, as measured by camel-powered trade caravans. He then measured the angle of the shadow in Alexandria on the solstice. By taking the angle of the shadow (7.2 degrees) and dividing it into the 360 degrees of a circle (360 divided by 7.2 yields 50), Eratosthenes could then multiply the distance between Alexandria and Syene by the result to determine the circumference of the Earth. Remarkably, Eratosthenes determined the circumference to be 25,000 miles, just 99 miles over the actual circumference at the equator (24,901 miles). Although Eratosthenes made a few mathematical errors in his calculations, the, canceled each other out and yielded an amazingly accurate answer that still causes scientists to marvel. A few decades later, the Greek geographer Posidonius insisted that Eratosthenes circumference was too large. He calculated the circumference on his own and obtained a figure of 18,000 miles- about 7,000 miles too short. During the Middle Ages, most scholars accepted Eratosthenes circumference, though Christopher Columbus used Posidonius measurement to convince his supporters that he could quickly reach Asia by sailing west from Europe. As we now know, this was a critical error on Columbus part. Had he used Eratosthenes figure instead, Columbus would have known he was not yet in Asia when he landed in the New World. Prime Numbers A noted polymath, Eratosthenes also made notable contributions to the field of mathematics, including the invention of an algorithm used to identify prime numbers. His method involved taking a table of whole numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) and striking off the multiples of each prime, beginning with multiples of the number two, then multiples of the number three, etc. until only the prime numbers remained. This method became known as the sieve of Eratosthenes, as it works by filtering out the non-prime numbers in the same way that a sieve filters solids out of liquids. Death In his old age, Eratosthenes became blind and he died of self-induced starvation in either 192 or 196 BCE in Alexandria, Egypt. He lived to be about 80 to 84 years old. Legacy Eratosthenes was one of the greatest Greek polymaths, and his work influenced later innovators in fields ranging from mathematics to geography. Admirers of the Greek thinker called him Pentathlos, after the Greek athletes known for their prowess in a number of different events. A crater on the Moon was named in his honor. Sources Klein, Jacob, and Franciscus Vieta.  Greek Mathematical Thought and the Origin of Algebra. Courier Corporation, 1968.Roller, Duane W.  Ancient Geography: the Discovery of the World in Classical Greece and Rome. I.B. Tauris, 2017.Warmington, Eric Herbert.  Greek Geography. AMS Press, 1973.

Employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 2

Employee Relations - Essay Example Skills and competence are very critical as they assist in achieving performance benefits through focusing on commitment, involvement, and engagement. These relations are strategic in managing business risks and mostly emphasize on unionizing management and unions. Influence is also very important in developing interpersonal communications as it provides professional satisfaction with the ability to influence, negotiate and empower valuable information thus enhancing more ideas. In the above case study, there are various aspects that need to be addressed. To begin with there are external influences that currently impact on this organization and this will include the political aspects, economic aspects, social-cultural and technological aspects. The political aspects will relate to ways in which changes in government and government  policy influence this organization as a whole. According to the Health trust provider, the government policy has other health providers in the vicinity, due to the recession the government fiscal policy and the budget deficit is more than the usual stringent thus the health trust expects to suffer the real drop of 10% in the entire region this year. The health trust is therefore expected to increase the number of patients and to elevate service quality, efficiency and effectiveness for them to make the budget constrain meet targets (Daniels 2006, p. 157). There is also need to identify key structural changes in the world around them which affect demand and  supply  conditions for their products. This will involve the economic changes. The economy will be the number one change driver; this is because it brings the necessary conditions for change. The economy at the moment is in recession but it seems the organization can still cope with this situation.  

Case study review Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case study review - Coursework Example However, one weakness reflected is that of high operating expenses. This is because the revenue is in â€Å"billions† whereby the net profit is only amounting to a few â€Å"millions†, thereby reflecting high expenses. High expenses could lead to operational inefficiency as well as higher prices for customers; therefore, they need to be controlled. On the other hand, the company has the opportunity to grow as it is currently only medium sized. By employing more people and increasing operations it can take advantage of economies of scale and lower prices for customers. Finally, it is likely that the company is facing the threat of high expenses owing to factors beyond its control such as rising labor costs and interest rates. 2. Fitness First Group Ltd Fitness Ltd’s strength lies in its geographic diversification as it is â€Å"international† in nature and has operations in 15 countries. Therefore, it can take advantage of lower costs in other countries as well as reduce legal and regulatory risks by operating in different countries. However, it may potentially possess weakness in the form of mismanagement of multi-cultural international markets. Furthermore, since the company is large in size and scale, HR conflicts and conflict between the strategies for home country versus host country is likely to be inherent. The company faces the opportunity of further expanding its geographic base and expanding into other countries, such as emerging BRIC economies, to take advantage of the rising health issues and increased demand for fitness by consumers in these countries. Furthermore, it can â€Å"go public† rather than remaining a private limited company as doing so will give it access to greater amount of finances and capital to run the business. This is particularly relevant because the company has international operations which may require share capital to sustain them. Finally, the company faces the threat of intense competition owing to its international operations. It is worth noting that the company may have to compete with already established players in countries other than its home country which would entail a potential risk of failing in those countries altogether. Furthermore, customers’ preferences, habits and lifestyle may be different in these countries and this is particularly relevant since the company is offering lifestyle-based service- fitness. 3. Oxford BioMedica plc The company’s strength lies in its association with an already established brand- â€Å"Oxford University† which shall give it enhanced reputation compared to its competitors. However, its weakness is that the company may require greater funds for further research and development as scientific research is typically cost. An amount of ?130mn may, therefore, be insufficient for this purpose. As far as opportunity is concerned, the company may have access to greater funding owing to funds provided by health and scientific organizations that generally have huge budgets for research and development. This funding can be used to develop innovative medicines as is the core mission of the company. However, the threats are also likely to be high owing to the controversy surrounding â€Å"gene-based† medicines. This means that lack of political will and regulatory compliance may delay patent protection which could ultimately put the large