Reading University’s programme to preserve the nation’s chrysanthemums may be expanded to other plant species.

The ‘Frozen Ark’ project uses cryopreservation - the storage of plant gemplasm at ultra-low temperatures to rapidly cool cuttings to a glass-like state. The University says it is a cost-effective means of building up libraries of DNA to prevent further loss of ornamental plant varieties.

“The technology isn’t new,” explained programme director Dr Andy Wetten. “Most of the equipment has been around for at least 20 years, but it has always been prohibitively expensive. However, advances in cooling technology now allow us to achieve the same results with a far smaller budget.”

Traditionally, clippings have been stored in a cooling liquid which can leave them open to mutations. Shoot tip treatment with cryoprotectants and rapid liquid nitrogen causes the tissues to enter a non-crystalline ‘vitrified’ state in which they can be safely maintained indefinitely.

Currently, the team is working to preserve around 1,000 known varieties of chrysanthemum. There has already been good success with cocoa plants, and the team now hopes to roll out the system to other species.

“It’s a system that works best with plants that micropropagate well,” Wetten explains. “We’ve also found that the freezing process can eliminate certain diseases from the culture. For instance, Swollen Shoot Disease, common among cocoa plants, has all but disappeared.”

The potential for reanimation seems indefinite. “We’ve been recovering buds we put away 15 years ago, and they have all the same characteristics as those we put away a few months ago. It seems that there is very little loss or damage during the process.”

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