CRYOPRESERVATION OF SEED OF WESTERN-AUSTRALIAN NATIVE SPECIES

Citation
Dh. Touchell et Kw. Dixon, CRYOPRESERVATION OF SEED OF WESTERN-AUSTRALIAN NATIVE SPECIES, Biodiversity and conservation, 2(6), 1993, pp. 594-602
Citations number
NO
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Ecology,"Environmental Sciences
ISSN journal
0960-3115
Volume
2
Issue
6
Year of publication
1993
Pages
594 - 602
Database
ISI
SICI code
0960-3115(1993)2:6<594:COSOWN>2.0.ZU;2-H
Abstract
The ability of seed of native Western Australian species to be stored using cryopreservation methods was investigated by subjecting seed of 90 native species representing 84 genera and 33 families to storage in liquid nitrogen. Seed of 68 native Western Australian species were ge rminated after storage in liquid nitrogen for two weeks following trea tments which involved direct plunging into liquid nitrogen or slow coo ling at 0.4-degrees-C min-1 in 15% dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) or slow cooling at 0.4-degrees-C min-1 in 35% DMSO. The largest number of spec ies (37) responded positively to direct plunging without pretreatments , with only 10 species responding to slow cooling in 15% DMSO. Thirty one species had enhanced germination and 10 species depressed germinat ion after any of the liquid nitrogen treatments. There were no trends in a species ability to survive liquid nitrogen storage and freezing r egime, moisture content, seed size or taxonomic relatedness. However, hard seeded species belonging to the families Caesalpinaceae and Papil ionaceae showed a consistently high degree of tolerance to liquid nitr ogen storage. Significant physical damage to seed and cotyledons only occurred in Templetonia retusa (Papilionaecae) and this was alleviated by nicking the seed coat. This study indicates that seed of a large p roportion of native Western Australian species may be amenable to stor age in liquid nitrogen and that at least 40% of the listed rare and en dangered species of Western Australia could be maintained in this way.