Recovery of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) somatic embryos cryostored for 20 years

BACKGROUND: A cryopreservation protocol has been established for oil palm somatic embryos (SEs), the efficiency of which must be evaluated, both in terms of regeneration and of long-term storage capacity, before its large-scale routine use. OBJECTIVE: To test the survival and recovery of 29 clones of oil palm somatic embryos cryostored for 20 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clumps of SEs were pregrown for 7 days on medium containing 0.75 M sucrose, dehydrated in air-tight containers containing silica gel to moisture contents between 19-35% fresh weight, and then immersed directly in liquid nitrogen and stored in cryotanks for 20 years. RESULTS: Survival of SEs cryopreserved and rewarmed immediately displayed an average value of 19.1% for the 29 clones tested while survival of SEs rewarmed after 20 years of cryostorage was significantly higher, with an average of 33.2% for the 28 surviving clones. Out of these 28 surviving clones, three were lost due to contamination or regrowth decline, six produced only shoots and the rest proliferated. CONCLUSION: I t is possible to cryostore oil palm SEs for extended periods and to regenerate proliferating cultures and plantlets from the cryopreserved material. The cryopreservation protocol established can thus be efficiently used to store oil palm germplasm and to manage large-scale production in industrial laboratories