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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #426470
Research Project: Curation and Research to Safeguard and Expand Collections of Plant and Microbial Genetic Resources and Associated Descriptive Information

Location: Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research

Title: Documentation of cryopreserved dormant buds and shoot tips in the US National Plant Germplasm System

Author
item Volk, Gayle
item Henk, Adam
item Ambruzs, Barbara
item Bonnart, Remi
item CHEN, K - Colorado State University
item Estrada, Stacey
item Hall, Bradford
item Latona, Alison
item Level, Allison
item McGovern, Cullen
item Robinson, James
item Shepherd, Ashley
item Skogerboe, Dianne
item Staats, Elise
item Jenderek, Maria
item Harmel, Robert

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/23/2025
Publication Date: 9/18/2025
Citation: Volk, G.M., Henk, A.D., Ambruzs, B.D., Bonnart, R.M., Chen, K., Estrada, S.M., Hall, B.D., Latona, A.L., Level, A.V., McGovern, C.L., Robinson, J.Q., Shepherd, A.N., Skogerboe, D.M., Staats, E.R., Jenderek, M.M., Harmel, R.D. 2025. Documentation of cryopreserved dormant buds and shoot tips in the US National Plant Germplasm System. HortScience. 60(11):1886-1891. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18758-25.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18758-25

Interpretive Summary: Genebanks maintain extensive collections of plant genetic resources as seeds or as actively growing plants in the field, greenhouse/screenhouse, or in vitro. Often, seed collections can be backed-up in long-term freezer storage; however, actively growing plants that represent specific cultivars will not retain the same cultivar identity if they are stored as seeds. Vegetative materials, such as dormant buds or shoot tips, can be sampled from the non-seed collections maintained in a cryopreserved state in liquid nitrogen. Crop specific procedures are implemented to successfully cryopreserve and then recover dormant buds and shoot tips. This manuscript provides the data fields, methods for sample documentation, and newly standardized data review processes that have been employed at the USDA National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation. In addition, taxonomic information is provided about the 5489 unique NPGS accessions with cryopreserved inventories at NLGRP.

Technical Abstract: Genebanks around the world have implemented cryopreservation programs to conserve clonally propagated crop collections as dormant buds and shoot tips. In 1988, the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) cryopreservation program placed its initial dormant bud samples into long-term storage at the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP) in Fort Collins, Colorado. Shoot tip cryopreservation at NLGRP became routine in the early 2000’s, with an early emphasis on potato cryopreservation. Accurate data documentation methods ensure critical information is available for decades after materials are placed into cryostorage. Therefore, we provide key data fields, methods for sample documentation, and newly standardized data review processes based on NLGRP procedures. In addition, taxonomic information is provided for the 5489 unique NPGS accessions with cryopreserved NLGRP inventories.