Cryopreservation of in vitro-grown shoot tips of raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) by encapsulation-vitrification and encapsulation-dehydration.

The first efficient cryopreservation procedure for in vitro-grown shoot tips of raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) has been developed based on encapsulation-vitrification (EnVi) and encapsulation-dehydration (EnDe). EnVi resulted in higher survival (85%) and regrowth (75%) of cryopreserved shoot tips than EnDe (65 and 50%, respectively). In both cryogenic procedures, shoots regenerated from cryopreserved shoot tips without intermediary callus formation. Histological studies showed that a much larger number of meristematic cells survived following EnVi than EnDe. The EnVi procedure was applied to seven raspberry genotypes with an average survival and regrowth of 71 and 68%, respectively. Regenerated plants showed normal morphology. Results here indicate EnVi as a simple and efficient method for long-term preservation of R. idaeus germplasm.