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Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Effect of storage temperature on spore viability and early gametophyte development of three vulnerable species of Alsophila (Cyatheaceae)

Y. Li A B , Y. L. Zhang A , C. D. Jiang A , T. Wang A , Q. Wang A and L. Shi A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanxincun 20, Xiangshan, Haidian District, Beijing 100093, P.R. China.

B Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China.

C Corresponding author. Email: chuanxia97420@163.com

Australian Journal of Botany 58(2) 89-96 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT09180
Submitted: 14 October 2009  Accepted: 2 January 2010   Published: 29 March 2010

Abstract

To effectively preserve the vulnerable species of Alsophila, we studied the effects of varying the temperature and duration of storage on spore viability, early gametophyte development and the microstructure of brown spores of three Alsophila species. Spores of A. spinulosa (Wall. ex Hook.) Tryon and A. gigantea Wall. ex Hook. lost viability quickly when stored at room temperature and suffered from great loss when stored at –18°C from 6 to 12 months. Within 1 month, spore viability of A. spinulosa and A. gigantea stored at 4°C was higher than that of those stored in liquid nitrogen. In contrast, long-term storage in liquid nitrogen resulted in a comparatively small loss of viability for these two species. The spores of A. podophylla Hook. died within 3 months after storage at room temperature, 4°C and –18°C, and they died within 12 months when stored in liquid nitrogen. The spores of A. spinulosa and A. gigantea stored at room temperature, 4°C and –18°C, were prone to develop into abnormal gametophytes. These results suggest that storage of A. spinulosa and A. gigantea spores in liquid nitrogen is an effective method of preserving these vulnerable species. The reasons for the failure to preserve ephemeral A. podophylla spores by storage in liquid nitrogen are discussed.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank Chen Zhenchuan, Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, and Dong Shiyong, South China Botanical Garden, for collecting the material, Li Dong and Yang Shanying, Institute of Botany (CAS), and A. B. Kholina, Institute of Biology and Soil Science (RAS), for their earnest help. This study was financially supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Numbers KZCX2-YW-414, CZBZX-1), National Natural Science Foundation of China (30973876) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (Numbers 2005DKA21006, 2007AA021405).


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