Cryopreservation "Cryopreservation of seeds can make orchid propagation easier. ... white Dendrobium shavin sp. ... with outstretched petals... An associate professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Department of Crop Science... Uma [Rani ]... shows... the orchid seeds [pollinia...] inside the flower. The seeds are microscopic, not feasible for commercial or individual growing because they do not have the layer of nutrient-rich endosperm (food supply)... ... Orchids... form mutually beneficial relationships with other plants, like trees, and the job of the endosperm is usually done by the layer of moss on trees that nourish the seeds to encourage growth. Orchid propagation on a commercial scale is done via tissue culture (cloning using cell aggregates of the original plant) instead of seeds, because these orchids are removed from their natural moss-filled habitat and are tended to in nurseries. ... The problem arises when you buy a bottle of haphazardly-shaped cloned plantlets from nurseries: The jungle-like interior can be puzzling to organise and transfer into pots. People often waste plantlets when isolating them into more fertile ground and competition between them while in the bottle also hampers the chances of maximising the efficiency of the growing process. Even the survivors have a short shelf-life. ... into... cryopreservation laboratory... into a brightly-lit room... a rotary shaker, a machine that swirls the contents of a set of conical flasks. ... a glass petri dish holding tiny translucent globular structures with light-green cores... artificial seeds which aim to function as natural seeds to make orchid propagation easier and more efficient. They increase the commercial viability of... [Malaysia] orchid export industry, which is valued at RM150 million per year, and is the third largest globally. ... seeds are produced manually... the sodium alginate gel mimics the endosperm of a seed. After bead-like orchid callouses, or... PLBs (protocorm-like bodies) are mixed with the gel, they are gently sucked into a pipette one at a time and dropped into a beaker filled with calcium chloride solution. A consequent reaction hardens the outer part of the gel, forming a protective casing like that of a natural seed. ... the seeds are guaranteed to last 135 days when sealed in an airtight jar. They also produce uniform plants (of the same species) which can be made to grow at the same rate, meaning a significantly larger batch of orchids can be produced within a short period, compared to current methods. ... [Rani] pursued a degree in agriculture in UPM which eventually led to a scholarship to do her doctorate in Seed Science and Technology at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. ... Upon returning home, Uma realised the grave problem the country has, as most tropical plants had recalcitrant seeds, which meant they could not be preserved for long. So she focused her research on cryopreservation of seeds to reduce wastage of native resources. Uma realised that the technology invented by Sherry Kitto and Jules Janick in 1982 to preserve carrot seeds, could be applied to other plants. The easy availability of orchids made the plant an obvious choice for experimentation, as well as being an excellent teaching material for her postgraduate students. The technology of synthetic seeds had never before been utilised on a commercial level, making Uma’s venture a first. ... Her current research is still ongoing as she aims to perfect the ability of seeds to regenerate with only water, the simplicity of which is not unlike the way green beans are placed on moist cotton to produce beansprouts, a well-known childhood scientific endeavour. ... these artificial seeds are user-friendly and are pleasing aesthetically, especially when sold in glass trinkets, as pet plants. ... the products can even be marketed as live curios to the public, apart from the benefits they reap from maximising production capacity for the export industry. In reality, the seeds can last indefinitely in liquid nitrogen... Uma firmly believes they can be preserved for an even longer period as the study goes on, and larger commercial support alongside public interest in her quest could someday unlock the mystery of the actual shelf-life of these crystal-clear balls of life, calculated in years instead of just days." URL : nst.my/life-times/showbiz/science-planting-orchids-from-seeds-1.342115
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 02:55:43 +0000
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