Special Issue "Improvement and Innovation of Cryopreservation and In Vitro Methods in Plant Resources Protection"

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Conservation Biology and Biodiversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2023 | Viewed by 4541

Special Issue Editors

Department of Agricultural Life Science, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea
Interests: biodiversity conservation; cryopreservation; future crops; in vitro culture
K.A. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology of Russian Academy of Sciences, 127276 Moscow, Russia
Interests: biotechnology; in vitro cell culture; cell biology; tissue culture

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant genetic resources (PGR) are perhaps the most precious gift of nature to humanity: they provide food, shelter, medicines, and a large variety of goods of high economic value, not to mention their key importance for healthy ecosystems and inspirational beauty. Nonetheless, the depletion of plant biodiversity is a problem that have been escalated to a threatening level in recent decades. There is an urgent call for the scientific community to search and put into practice modern methods for PGR conservation through principal studies and practical applications of cryobiotechnology.

This Special Issue is focused specifically on using all aspects of in vitro culture and cryopreservation technology to approach the problem of PGR conservation, including crops, ornamental, medicinal and model plants as well as wild species. Studies offering new insights into conservation methods and physiological responses for species and genotypes that cannot be conserved as seeds in conventional genebanks are particularly welcomed. The submission categories include original research papers, as well as critical reviews (upon prior consultation with the editors) and case studies.

Dr. Haenghoon Kim
Dr. Elena Popova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • conservation

  • cryobiotechnology
  • in vitro culture
  • plant genetic resources
  • vitrification

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review, Other

Article
Cryopreservation of Malus and Pyrus Wild Species in the ‘Fruit Genebank’ in Dresden-Pillnitz, Germany
Biology 2023, 12(2), 200; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12020200 - 28 Jan 2023
Viewed by 517
Abstract
A unique and valuable diversity of the Malus and Pyrus wild species germplasm is maintained ex situ in field collections in the ‘Fruit Genebank’ in Dresden-Pillnitz, Germany. (1) Background: The establishment of a duplicate collection is necessary to preserve this material safely from [...] Read more.
A unique and valuable diversity of the Malus and Pyrus wild species germplasm is maintained ex situ in field collections in the ‘Fruit Genebank’ in Dresden-Pillnitz, Germany. (1) Background: The establishment of a duplicate collection is necessary to preserve this material safely from abiotic and biotic stress factors. (2) Methods: Two different techniques, cryopreservation using dormant buds and PVS2 vitrification using in vitro shoot tips, were applied and compared. (3) Results: In Malus altogether 180 accessions belonging to 32 species were processed with an average recovery rate of 39% within ten years using the dormant bud method. Accessions, 116 in number, achieved the criterion of 40% recovery which was 64.44% of all accessions tested. In the case of Pyrus germplasm a total of 35 accessions of 21 species and both techniques for cryopreservation were tested. In the results of these experiments the PVS2 method led to better results compared to the dormant bud method. (4) Conclusions: In Malus the dormant bud technique will be the method of choice for the future to build up the duplicate collection. Further experiments using both techniques are planned in the future to make a final decision for Pyrus. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Genetic Stability Assessment of Six Cryopreserved Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) Accessions by Phenotypic and Molecular Studies
Biology 2022, 11(12), 1746; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11121746 - 30 Nov 2022
Viewed by 616
Abstract
For the long-term preservation of genetic resources, cryopreservation techniques have been developed for strawberry germplasm, mainly using in vitro-grown shoot tips. In this study, genetic stability was tested under greenhouse conditions for six strawberry accessions (IT232511, PHS0132, IT245810, IT245830, IT245852, and IT245860) derived [...] Read more.
For the long-term preservation of genetic resources, cryopreservation techniques have been developed for strawberry germplasm, mainly using in vitro-grown shoot tips. In this study, genetic stability was tested under greenhouse conditions for six strawberry accessions (IT232511, PHS0132, IT245810, IT245830, IT245852, and IT245860) derived from the following procedures: (1) conventional propagation (GH: greenhouse maintained); (2) in vitro propagation (TC: tissue culture); (3) pretreatment before cryopreservation (−LN: non-liquid nitrogen exposure); and (4) cryopreservation (+LN: liquid nitrogen exposure). To test the performance of phenotypic traits, we measured six vegetative and five fruit traits. There were no distinct differences in most of the characteristics, but a few traits, such as sugar content and pH of fruits in three accessions, showed higher values in +LN compared to GH. However, the differences disappeared in the first runner generation. To test genetic variations, a total of 102 bands were generated by twelve inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers. A few polymorphic bands were found only in plants derived from TC of IT245860, which was not cryopreserved. The sequencing analysis of four polymorphic bands produced by ISSR_15 showed that none of these sequences matched the characterized genes in NCBI. Phenotypic abnormality was not observed across all plants. This study indicates that cryopreserved plants of the six strawberry accessions are phenotypically and genetically stable. Therefore, the results of this study can help to implement cryobanking of strawberry germplasm. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Optimization of Propagation of the Polish Strain of Aldrovanda vesiculosa in Tissue Culture
Biology 2022, 11(10), 1389; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11101389 - 23 Sep 2022
Viewed by 830
Abstract
Aldrovanda vesiculosa is a rare and critically endangered carnivorous plant species. Its populations have declined worldwide, so there is a need to protect the species from extinction. The research was conducted to establish an effective method of in vitro propagation of the species [...] Read more.
Aldrovanda vesiculosa is a rare and critically endangered carnivorous plant species. Its populations have declined worldwide, so there is a need to protect the species from extinction. The research was conducted to establish an effective method of in vitro propagation of the species in order to obtain plants for reintroduction in the wild. The procedures included disinfection, multiplication, and acclimatization of plants. Contamination-free in vitro cultures were established using shoots and turions, which were disinfected with 0.25% sodium hypochlorite. The shoots were first defoliated. The explants regenerated better in liquid 1/5 MS medium than in solidified one. The optimum medium for the multiplication phase contained MS macro- and microelements diluted to 1/10. Plants cultivated in that medium were of good quality, long, and branched. The advantageous effect of medium was also confirmed by the content of photosynthetic pigments in the plant material. The content of chlorophyll a was highest in plants cultivated in 1/5 or 1/10 MS medium. The plants obtained were acclimatized to ex vitro conditions and reintroduced in the wild. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research, Other

Review
Cryopreservation of Endangered Ornamental Plants and Fruit Crops from Tropical and Subtropical Regions
Biology 2022, 11(6), 847; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11060847 - 31 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1448
Abstract
Horticultural crops comprise various economic species extending from fruits, nuts, vegetables, spices and condiments, ornamentals, aromatic, and medicinal plants. Ornamental and fruit plants are produced mainly for their nutritional and aesthetic values, respectively. Unfortunately, many tropical and subtropical species are in danger of [...] Read more.
Horticultural crops comprise various economic species extending from fruits, nuts, vegetables, spices and condiments, ornamentals, aromatic, and medicinal plants. Ornamental and fruit plants are produced mainly for their nutritional and aesthetic values, respectively. Unfortunately, many tropical and subtropical species are in danger of extinction because of climate change and (a)biotic stresses. It is imperative to preserve the germplasms of these species for the present and future genetic improvement programs. Cryopreservation, i.e., maintenance of tissues at the ultralow temperature of liquid nitrogen, is a promising long-term preservation technique, alternative to seed or in vitro banks, which can be applied for both vegetatively and generatively (through seeds) propagated crops, including those with recalcitrant seeds. It is a technology of choice not only for the preservation of plant biodiversity but also for virus elimination in the proficient administration of large-scale micropropagation. The main advantages of cryopreservation are the lowering of in vitro culture expenditures, needed space, contamination risk, and operator errors. However, tropical species are temperature delicate and one of the foremost challenging issues is preconditioning treatments that stimulate physiological reactions to sufficiently enhance tolerance to dehydration and cryogenic procedures. In recent years, several cryopreservation methods based on encapsulation-vitrification, droplet-vitrification, the use of aluminum cryo-plates, and cryo-mesh have been established. Combined cryo-techniques, gene/DNA conservation, as well as studies on perceiving bio-molecular events and exploring the multistage process from the beginning to end of cryopreservation are receiving more emphasis. The development of cryobiomics delivers a conceptual framework to assess the significance of cell signaling mechanisms on cellular functions, the influence of cryoinjury factors on sample viability, and the implications for genetic stability following cryo-storage. The aim of this mini-review article is to provide a succinct synthesis of the developed cryogenic procedures and their use for the storage and exchange of genetic resources of tropical and subtropical horticultural crops, particularly fruit crops and ornamental plants under the threat of extinction. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research, Review

Perspective
Effect of Explant Source on Phenotypic Changes of In Vitro Grown Cannabis Plantlets over Multiple Subcultures
Biology 2023, 12(3), 443; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12030443 - 13 Mar 2023
Viewed by 555
Abstract
Drug-type cannabis is often multiplied using micropropagation methods to produce genetically uniform and disease/insect-free crops. However, micropropagated plantlets often exhibit phenotypic variation, leading to culture decline over time. In cannabis, the source of these changes remains unknown, though several factors (e.g., explant’s sources [...] Read more.
Drug-type cannabis is often multiplied using micropropagation methods to produce genetically uniform and disease/insect-free crops. However, micropropagated plantlets often exhibit phenotypic variation, leading to culture decline over time. In cannabis, the source of these changes remains unknown, though several factors (e.g., explant’s sources and prolonged in vitro culture) can result in such phenotypical variations. The study presented herein evaluates the effects of explant sources (i.e., nodal segments derived from the basal, near-basal, middle, and apical parts of the greenhouse-grown mother plant) over multiple subcultures (4 subcultures during 235 days) on multiplication parameters and leaf morphological traits of in vitro cannabis plantlets. While initial in vitro responses were similar among explants sourced from different regions of the plant, there were significant differences in performance over the course of multiple subcultures. Specifically, explant source and/or the number of subcultures significantly impacted plantlet height, number of nodes, and canopy surface area. The explants derived from the basal and near-basal parts of the plant resulted in the tallest shoots with the greatest number of nodes, while the explants derived from the middle and apical regions led to shorter shoots with fewer nodes. Moreover, the basal-derived explants produced cannabis plantlets with shorter but wider leaves which demonstrated the potential of such explants for in vitro rejuvenation practices with minimal culture decline. This study provides new evidence into the long-term impacts of explant source in cannabis micropropagation. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop