The influence of desiccation, cryopreservation and rehydration on the survival of polyembryonic Citrus seeds

GRAIVER NATALIA; CALIFANO ALICIA; ZARITZKY NOEMÍ

Rosario

Congreso; 49 th annual meeting of the Society for Cryobiology.; 2012

Society for Cryobiology

Three categories of seed storage behavior are generally recognized among plant species: orthodox, intermediate and recalcitrant. Intermediate seeds, such as Citrus, can withstand partial dehydration, but they cannot be stored under conventional genebank conditions because they are cold-sensitive and desiccation does not increase their longevity. Citrus seeds that are immersed in liquid nitrogen (LN) without a previous dehydration process show a very low viability; therefore the water content when they are immersed in LN is considered as the most critical factor in cryopreservation process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the basis of the optimal hydration status for cryopreservation of intermediate oily Citrus seeds: Citrus sinensis (sweet orange) and Citrus paradise (grapefruit). In the present work two conditions were tested: a) seed desiccation, b) seed desiccation followed by LN treatment with thawing under controlled conditions. In addition two pre-sowing (preheating and prehumidification procedures previous to the germinability test) were applied and their influences on the viability of the seeds were analyzed. To study the tolerance to dehydration and LN exposure, seeds were equilibrated at relative humidities (ERH) between 11 and 95% using saturated salts (LiCl,MgCl2,K2CO3,NaNO2,NaCl,KCl,KNO3). Sorption isotherms were determined and modeled. Seed viability was analyzed by germination experiments; seeds were sown in hermetic controlled germination conditions and the percentage of normal seedling was evaluated 4-6 weeks after sowing. Seed desiccation sensitivity was quantified by the quantal response model. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms between -120 and 100ºC were determined on cotyledon tissue that was previously dehydrated reaching different moisture contents; ice melting enthalpies and unfrozen water contents were measured from these thermograms. In order to analyze the effect of pre-sowing treatment on seed viability, experiments were carried out in a narrower range of equilibrium relative humidities (ERH: 59-85%). All the seeds submitted to conditions of seed desiccation, or seed desiccation followed by LN treatment were either directly sown under germination conditions or submitted to pre-sowing rehydration procedures; the tested procedures were preheating (40ºC during 4 hours) and pre-humidification (equilibrium at 100% RH, 20 ºC). In the cases of seeds that were only dried and in seeds that were dried and treated with LN, the tested pre-sowing treatments (pre-humidification or heating) did not significantly improve the viability of the seeds with respect to the control samples (P