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Title: Cryopreservation of apple (Malus spp.): development, progress and future prospects

Author
item WANG, MIN-RUI - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item CHEN, LONG - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item LIU, JING - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item TEIXEIRA DA SILVA, JAMIE - Retired Non ARS Employee
item Volk, Gayle
item WANG, QIAO-CHUN - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University

Submitted to: Plant Cell Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/2/2018
Publication Date: 1/11/2018
Citation: Wang, M., Chen, L., Liu, J., Teixeira Da Silva, J.A., Volk, G.M., Wang, Q. 2018. Cryopreservation of apple (Malus spp.): development, progress and future prospects. Plant Cell Reports. 37(5):689-709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-018-2249-x.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-018-2249-x

Interpretive Summary: Apple (Malus sp.) is one of the most economically important temperate fruit crops. Wild Malus genetic resources and existing cultivars provide valuable genes for breeding new elite cultivars and rootstocks through traditional and biotechnological breeding programs. Over the last three decades, great progress has been made in apple cryobiology, making Malus one of the most extensively studied plant genera with respect to cryopreservation. Explants such as pollen, seeds, in vivo dormant buds and in vitro shoot tips have all been successfully cryopreserved, and large Malus cryo-banks have been established. Cryotherapy has been used to for apple virus eradication, to obtain virus-free plants. This review provides updated and comprehensive information on the development and progress of apple cryopreservation and cryotherapy. This review recognizes that the USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation maintains the largest Malus cryobank, with much of the National Plant Germplasm System vegetatively propagated Malus collection conserved as dormant buds in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen. Future research will reveal new applications and uses for apple cryopreservation and cryotherapy.

Technical Abstract: Apple (Malus sp.) is one of the most economically important temperate fruit crops. Wild Malus genetic resources and existing cultivars provide valuable genes for breeding new elite cultivars and rootstocks through traditional and biotechnological breeding programs. Over the last three decades, great progress has been made in apple cryobiology, making Malus one of the most extensively studied plant genera with respect to cryopreservation. Explants such as pollen, seeds, in vivo dormant buds and in vitro shoot tips have all been successfully cryopreserved, and large Malus cryobanks have been established. Cryotherapy has been used for virus eradication, to obtain virus-free apple plants. This review provides updated and comprehensive information on the development and progress of apple cryopreservation and cryotherapy. Future research will reveal new applications and uses for apple cryopreservation and cryotherapy.