TY  - GEN
AU  - Ashmore, Sarah E. 
TI  - Status report on the development and application of in vitro techniques for the conservation and use of plant genetic resources
SN  - 9290433396 (paperback)
AV  - SB123.3 A846
PY  - 1997///
CY  - Rome
PB  - International Plant Genetic Resources Institute
KW  - Germplasm resources, Plant
KW  - Techniques
N1  - Includes tables; The use of in vitro culture techniques enlarges the options available for the collecting, ex situ conservation and exchange of plant species which produce no or short-lived (recalcitrant) seeds or which are vegetatively propagated. In vitro field collecting techniques can be used to overcome some of the serious limitations encountered by the plant germplasm collector. In vitro storage techniques, including slow growth for the medium term and cryopreservation (liquid nitrogen, -196°C) for the long term, present great advantages for the conservation of the genetic resources of problem species. In addition, in vitro techniques offer the possibility of eliminating pathogens and thus conserving and exchanging germplasm in a disease-free condition.

However, despite their potential, in vitro conservation techniques are currently used to a limited extent only. This is partly due to the fact that they are little known and partly because further research is still needed in some areas
ER  -