| MadSci Network: Botany |
The article by Panis and Lambardi (2005) lists the standard solution, Plant Vitrification Solution #2, as 30% glycerol, 15% ethylene glycol and 15% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) (all on a volume basis) in a tissue culture medium containing 0.4 M sucrose. A high school science teacher could probably obtain those chemicals. The vitrification technique involves use of tissue-cultured or in vitro plantlets. Liquid nitrogen is used for the freezing. The article discusses various other plant cryopreservation techniques. For more information, do a google.com search on vitrification plant cryopreservation. You may be able to find further assistance from a university or government agency conducting cryopreservation research, such as the USDA Plant Germplasm Preservation Research Unit in Fort Collins, CO. Vitrification is a confusing term in plant tissue culture or plant micropropagation because it is defined in two different ways. Originally, it referred to abnormal plant organs or tissues but the preferred term for that is now hyperhydricity. The preferred definition for vitrification is the change from liquid to solid state during cryopreservation (Debergh et al. 1992). References Panis, B. and Lambardi, M. 2005. Status of cryopreservation technologies in plants (crop and forest trees). pp. 61-78, Part II IN: The Role of Biotechnology in Exploring and Protecting Agricultural Genetic Resources. Rome: FAO. Debergh, P., J. Aitken-Christie, D. Cohen, B. Grout, S. von Arnold, R. Zimmerman and M. Ziv.1992. Reconsideration of the term ‘vitrification’ as used in micropropagation. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 30: 135-140. USDA Plant Germplasm Preservation Research Unit
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