European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

CONSERVATION OF PLANT MATERIALS BY CRYOPRESERVATION - A REVIEW

*Monisha M., Swathi G., Bavithra P. S. and Arun P.

ABSTRACT

Plant biotechnology provides new options for collection, multiplication and short to long term conservation of plant diversity, using in situ and ex situ culture techniques. Significant progress has been made to conserve the plant, animal diversity etc., one such technique used for conservation of plant materials is cryopreservation. Cryopreservation is a perfect method for long term conservation of plant genetic resources, using very low temperature (liquid nitrogen) at -196°C. during cryopreservation all the biochemical activities are significantly reduced and biological deterioration are stopped. Metabolic and most physical process are stopped at this temperature. Thus, plants can be store for a very long period and the problem such as genetic instability and the risk of loose accessions due to contamination or human error due to subculture overcome. Techniques like cryopreservation helps to collect and store plant genetic resources, especially plants with low seed capability. Formation of ice crystal during cryopreservation leads to physical damage to the cells. Nowadays, conservation of plant genetic materials has altered from slow cooling to vitrification. The availability or development of simple, reliable,and cost effective strategies and the subsequent regeneration of plants are basic requirements for germplasm conservation. Cryopreservation of shoot tip is also being applied to eradicate systemic plant pathogens, a process termed as cryotherapy.

Keywords: Cryopreservation, Vitrification, Vegetatively Propagated Species, Recalcitrant Seed Species, Germplasm Conservation.