Cryopreservation of embryonic axes of jackfruit

Abstract

Embryonic axes of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamk. cv. 'Thong Prasert') were cryopreserved by desiccation and vitrification, but only the vitrification method was successful. Optimal conditions for vitrification protocol were as follows: Embryonic axes from fully mature seeds were excised and precultured on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) supplemented with 0.3M sucrose and 0.5M glycerol at 25 ± 2°C for 16 h. Subsequently the axes were transferred to 2 ml cryotubes filled with PVS2 vitrification solution at 25 ± 2°C for 50 min. The axes were then plunged rapidly in liquid nitrogen. After rapid warming, the PVS2 solution was replaced with 0.5 ml of 1.2M sucrose in WPM solution and kept at 25 ± 2°C for 20 min prior to transfer on WPM agar medium. The survival rate of cryopreserved axes was about 50% and cryopreserved axes were able to develop into whole plantlets.