Genetic stability assessments of plantlets regenerated from cryopreserved in vitro cultured grape and kiwi shoot-tips using RAPD.

In vitro cultured shoot-tips of four grape (Vitis vinifera) cultivars and one kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) cultivar were cryopreserved using the encapsulation-dehydration method. Genomic DNA of plantlets regenerated directly from cryopreserved shoot-tips was extracted and analyzed using the RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) technique. The RAPD profiles obtained were highly reproducible and no differences were found between the DNA patterns obtained with plantlets regenerated from control and cryopreserved plantlets. The RAPD technique therefore appears to be a fast, simple and efficient method for evaluating genetic stability of cryopreserved material, which can be used rapidly after the completion of a freezing experiment and will efficiently complement other genetic stability evaluation methods.