CRYOPRESERVATION OF IN VITRO SHOOT APICES OF Glehnia littoralis ― A MEDICAL PLANT

Cryopreservation was examined as a practical method for preserving the genetic resources of Glehnia littoralis Fr. Schm. a nearly exterminated medical plant. In vitro shoot apices were successfully cryopreserved using vitrification and encapsulation-dehydration. In vitrification, regrowth of apices loaded for 60 min with PVS2 (66.7 ± 6.7%) was preferable to loading with PVS3 (50.0 ± 5.8%). With encapsulation-dehydration, the best regrowth (43.3 ± 3.3%) was achieved when the moisture content in the beads was reduced to 19% by drying with silica gel for 6 h. Increased regrowth of shoot tips cryopreserved by encapsulation-dehydration resulted from the addition of 10 -4 M acetylsalicylic acid to the loading solution (86.7 ± 3.3%).