Articles
IN VITRO METHODS AND CRYOPRESERVATION: TOOLS FOR ENDANGERED EXCEPTIONAL SPECIES PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION
Article number
1039_7
Pages
73 – 79
Language
English
Abstract
Cryopreservation and in vitro culture of plant tissues are two tools that can be brought into service for ex situ plant conservation.
They are especially important for the long-term preservation of genetic diversity of species for which traditional seed banking is not workable.
Such species have been termed exceptional species, and they include species with recalcitrant seeds, as well as species that produce few or no seeds.
The ability to propagate and cryopreserve tissues from multiple genotypes can bring endangered species into stable, long-term storage and provide material that can be used for restoration.
Several species under study at CREW provide examples, including Asimina tetramera, Deeringothamnus pulchellus and D. rugelii, three endemic Florida pawpaws that have seeds and have been reported as recalcitrant, Hedeoma todsenii and Mespilus canescens, species from New Mexico and Arkansas, respectively, that are not producing seed, and Crotalaria avonensis and Ranunculus aestivalis, endemic species from Florida and Utah, respectively, for which few seeds have been available.
These species also illustrate some of the challenges of propagating and maintaining multiple genotypes, of genotypic variation in propagation and survival through cryopreservation, and of survival through acclimatization and outplanting.
However, they also illustrate the potential of these techniques for providing tissues for storage and plants for restoration when traditional methods are not adequate.
As these tools are applied to more species, these methods should become more efficient and effective and more widely applied for the propagation and preservation of exceptional species as a resource for the future.
They are especially important for the long-term preservation of genetic diversity of species for which traditional seed banking is not workable.
Such species have been termed exceptional species, and they include species with recalcitrant seeds, as well as species that produce few or no seeds.
The ability to propagate and cryopreserve tissues from multiple genotypes can bring endangered species into stable, long-term storage and provide material that can be used for restoration.
Several species under study at CREW provide examples, including Asimina tetramera, Deeringothamnus pulchellus and D. rugelii, three endemic Florida pawpaws that have seeds and have been reported as recalcitrant, Hedeoma todsenii and Mespilus canescens, species from New Mexico and Arkansas, respectively, that are not producing seed, and Crotalaria avonensis and Ranunculus aestivalis, endemic species from Florida and Utah, respectively, for which few seeds have been available.
These species also illustrate some of the challenges of propagating and maintaining multiple genotypes, of genotypic variation in propagation and survival through cryopreservation, and of survival through acclimatization and outplanting.
However, they also illustrate the potential of these techniques for providing tissues for storage and plants for restoration when traditional methods are not adequate.
As these tools are applied to more species, these methods should become more efficient and effective and more widely applied for the propagation and preservation of exceptional species as a resource for the future.
Authors
V.C. Pence
Keywords
ex situ conservation, Asimina tetramera, Hedeoma todsenii, Ranunculus aestivalis, Crotalaria avonensis, Mespilus canescens
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