Cryopreservation of in vitro-grown shoot tips of chrysanthemum by encapsulation-dehydration

Chrysanthemums are amongst the most economically important flowers in the world. The protection and storage of these valuable genetic resources is of great importance. Today, cryopreservation, or the storage of biological material at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (-196°C), is believed to be the most promising long-term storage method. To optimise the cryopreservation protocol, the shoot tips of Chrysanthemum × grandiflorum /Ramat./ Kitam. ‘Lady Orange’ and ‘Lady Salmon’ mutants were cryopreserved using the encapsulation-dehydration technique. During the experiment, the influence of sucrose concentration (2, 3 and 6%) during preculture and the concentration of kinetin (0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 mg dm-3) in the regrowth medium were tested. A higher survival rate was observed for ‘Lady Salmon’. In general, the media with higher sucrose levels provided the best survival and recovery rates (35-40%). Kinetin had no influence on the survival rate; however, it influenced the morphogenesis of the plants. The lowest number of explants forming multiple shoots was observed on the medium with the lowest sucrose (during preculture) and kinetin (in the recovery medium) concentration. On the other hand, the best rhizogenesis efficiency was observed when 0.25 mg dm-3 kinetin was added. In conclusion, the composition of both preculture and recovery media need to be adjusted to single cultivars. The use of 3% sucrose (preculture) and 0.25 mg dm-3 kinetin (recovery) seems reasonable, since it guarantees a satisfying recovery rate of the explants and at the same time prevents the formation of callus and multiple shoots, stimulating the rooting instead.