Cryopreservation Studies on Plant Germplasm

Abstract

Annual and biennial seed crops belonging to the orthodox crop species are
generally amenable for preservation in seed 'Gene Banks' at low (+lO°e)
and ultra low ( - 20°C) temperatures. Until now it has proved to be the best
means of germplasm storage al/ over the world. For several vegetatively
propagated plant species, in-vitro conservation techniques now offer new
possibilities. Pol/en preservation is yet another important method by which
part of genome can be preserved, although it plays only a complementary
role. However, recent researches in cryopreservation indicate that seeds,
meristems, shoot tips, buds and both zygotic and somatic embryos as well as
embryonic axes can be preserved and the trends indicate that perhaps these
can be preserved for indefinite period without loss of viability or deterioration
ill qua/iiy and genetic integrity. Cryopreservation work undertaken
presently at National Facility Plant Tissue Culture Repository, (NFPTCR)
using seeds, pol/en, and in-vitro cultures has made significant progress and
the information has been briefly presented in this paper