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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » National Clonal Germplasm Repository » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #115218

Title: IMPLEMENTING CRYOGENIC STORAGE OF CLONALLY PROPAGATED PLANTS

Author
item Reed, Barbara

Submitted to: CryoLetters
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/23/2001
Publication Date: 4/1/2001
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Procedures for storing important vegetatively- propagated plants in liquid nitrogen were first developed in the 1970s. Continued improvements and new techniques during the 1980s and 1990s produced methods that are now used for long-term storage of important plants. Many details must be considered when translating experimental techniques into routine storage protocols. Decisions must be made concerning which plants are a priority for storage, how many of each plant, location of storage containers, duplication of storage for security, types of records to be kept, and evaluation procedures to determine continued viability. Collections of apples, blackberries, cassava, currants, gooseberries, grass, hops, pears, and potatoes are stored as shoot tips. Almond, citrus, hazelnut, jackfruit, litchi, and tea are stored as seed embryos, and many forest trees as somatic embryos. All of these cryopreserved plants are important for safeguarding genetic diversity that is vital to food security and to continued improvement of many vegetatively-propagated agricultural crops.

Technical Abstract: Methodology for plant germplasm cryopreservation was created in the 1970s, expanded in the 1980s, and implemented at the end of the 20th century. Translating experimental techniques into routine cryostorage of a clonal collection requires attention to details beyond those normally required for methods development. Early decisions include the choice of accessions to be stored, number of each accession per storage unit, number of replicates, location of storage, viability testing, record keeping, and proper control groups. Emphasis should be placed on selecting a secure storage site and compiling complete records needed for the recovery of plant material. Secure remote storage, duplicate locations, and secure, accurate records are all important in insuring the safety and usefulness of base collections. Evaluation of cryostored collections should be initiated to determine the longevity of plants and stability of storage conditions. Collections of several clonal genera are now stored in liquid nitrogen and more are in progress worldwide. These base-storage collections of clonal germplasm provide security for safeguarding long-term access to genetic diversity that is vital to food security and to continued improvement of many clonally-propagated agricultural crops.