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Title: SHORT-TERM STORAGE OF IN VITRO VITIS SHOOTS

Author
item Ellis, David
item Roberts, Trevor
item Turner, Marie
item Towill, Leigh

Submitted to: In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology - Plants
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2005
Publication Date: 6/5/2005
Citation: Ellis, D.D., T.L. Roberts, M. Turner, L.E. Towill. 2005. Short-term storage of in vitro vitis shoots. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology - Plants. June 5-7, 2005, Baltimore, Maryland. p. 11. Meeting Abstract.

Interpretive Summary: Plant germplasm which is maintained in the field is subject to loss due to diseases, insects, and abiotic stresses. One means of backing-up such valuable germplasm is to maintain this germplasm in tissue culture. While this provides a good back-up system, maintaining active tissue cultured material is labor intensive, expensive and requires sophisticated lab equipment. The labor and expense of tissue culture is large due to need to transfer the material every 4-6 weeks. This transfer interval can, in some cases, be lengthened by maintaining the tissue cultured material in low non-freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, the tissue cultured material is young, succulent tissue, not often ameanable to low temperature. In this study, we tested three low temperatures and three durations at these temperatures on nodal explants from Vitis shoot cultures. Results from this study indicated that in vitro Vitis nodes can survive low temperatures for short (1-3 months) periods of time.

Technical Abstract: To our knowledge there is no robust, genotype-independent method to preserve valuable Vitis germplasm other than maintenance in the field. Such maintenance is labor and land intensive as well as subject to loss from disease, pests and abiotic stresses. The USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) currently has over 3200 vegetatively-propagated Vitis accessions maintained in the field, often by as few as two replicate plants. The National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) focuses on research aimed at the long-term storage and preservation of the germplasm in the NPGS. While cryopreservation of important agricultural vegetatively-propagated material, is the goal, such methods do not exist at present for Vitis. The present study therefore is investigating the preservation of this valuable Vitis germplasm as in vitro shoot cultures at 5 degrees C, 10 degrees C and 15 degrees C for 1, 3, and 6 months in an effort to reduce the labor involved in maintenance of in vitro cultures. As might be expected, the response was genotype-specific but, generally, recovery was faster at 15 degrees C than at 5 degrees C and survival after cold exposure was time dependent. With most genotypes, initial recovery was good but at longer exposure times to the cooler temperatures, senescence began in many genotypes 6 weeks after removal from the cold.