2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Besides the in situ conservation of plants, the development of efficient methods of ex situ conservation plays a crucial role in the maintenance of plant biodiversity. However, the traditional preservation methods, such as field clonal genebanks, are often costly and risky. Most of the plants are usually propagated through seeds, grafting, and rooting of stem cuttings. However, these methods are not always highly efficient for obtaining a significant amount of disease-free plant material (which might be used to re-introduce the plants in the natural environment if needed). An appropriate approach is the use of micropropagation (or tissue culture) to maintain additional ex situ collections besides the field collections at botanical gardens, such as The Huntington. Furthermore, we can take advantage of innovative techniques which allow long-term conservation of plants, such as cryopreservation or the storage of plant material from tissue culture at an ultra-low temperature (−196°C, in liquid nitrogen). The primary goal of the cryopreservation program at The Huntington Botanical Gardens is providing protocols to preserve plant germplasm in liquid nitrogen and freezers. This technology will help to ensure long-term conservation for threatened species that are part of living collections at botanical gardens, such as The Huntington. We are working with succulents, cacti, magnolias, avocado, oaks and other endangered species.