Lab workflows
Batch Tracker
The Batch Tracker is a production-focused view of your explant records. It brings key tracking details — including batch identifiers, vessel counts, culture stages, media, and subculture timing — into one place so you can review cultures across your lab more efficiently.
What is a batch?
In xPlant, the Batch Tracker uses explant records to organize groups of culture material being tracked through your workflow. Each record can carry production context such as its source plant, batch code, vessel count, culture stage, media, operator, and subculture history.
Because the Batch Tracker is built around your explant records, updates such as transfers, stage changes, linked media recipes, and contamination records remain connected to the same culture history. The Batch Tracker gives you a production-focused way to review that information across many cultures at once.
What the columns mean
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Plant Code | The identifier associated with the source plant. |
| Batch | The batch identifier used to distinguish this culture record. |
| Plant Name | The name of the source plant associated with the explant. |
| Stage | The current tissue culture stage (Initiation, Multiplication, Rooting, etc.). |
| Media | The media recipe associated with the explant record. |
| 1st Cultured | The date the culture was first recorded in xPlant. |
| Subcultured | The most recent recorded subculture or transfer date. |
| Cultured By | The operator associated with the culture record. |
| Count | The recorded number of vessels associated with the culture. |
| Status | The current status of the explant record. |
How cultures appear in the Batch Tracker
Culture records can enter the Batch Tracker in several ways, depending on your workflow:
Create an explant directly
Create an explant and record the relevant production details, such as its source plant, stage, batch code, vessel count, and operator. The record can then be reviewed from the Batch Tracker alongside your other cultures.
Import from a spreadsheet
Import existing culture records from a spreadsheet and map your columns to the corresponding xPlant fields. This is useful when moving an existing tracking workflow into xPlant.
Record cultures created during a transfer
When a transfer or subculture produces new culture records, use the transfer workflow to preserve their relationship to the source explant. The resulting records can then be tracked independently in the Batch Tracker.
Associating a media recipe
The Batch Tracker can show media associated with an explant record. To link a media recipe:
- 1Open the explant record from the Batch Tracker.
- 2Go to the Recipes & SOPs tab on the explant detail page.
- 3Click Link media recipe and search for the recipe by name.
- 4Save the change. The linked media can then be referenced from the Batch Tracker.
Note: Note: If an explant record has more than one recipe linked, the Batch Tracker may summarize the linked recipes in the Media column. Open the explant record to review the full recipe context.
Subculture date — how it works
How is the Subcultured date set?
The Subcultured date reflects the most recent applicable transfer recorded for the explant. When a new transfer is logged, the Batch Tracker uses that history to keep the latest subculture timing visible.
What if I subcultured without logging a transfer?
Record the transfer using the date the subculture actually took place. This keeps the culture history and subculture timing in the correct sequence, even when the record is added later.
Can I set subcultured date manually?
The Subcultured date is derived from transfer history rather than edited directly. Record the corresponding transfer to update the culture's subculture history.
Batch Tracker vs Explants view
| Batch Tracker | Explants view |
|---|---|
| Production-focused view of key culture details | Provides broader access to explant details and history |
| Makes subculture timing easier to review across cultures | Supports detailed browsing and filtering of explant records |
| Surfaces production identifiers such as plant and batch codes | Surfaces explant-specific identifiers and record details |
| Uses explant records as the basis for production tracking | Use when you need to review or manage individual explant records |
Use the Batch Tracker when you want a production-focused overview across cultures, and the Explants view when you need to work with individual explant records and their broader history.