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Cryobiotechnology of apple (Malus spp.): development, progress and future prospects

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Abstract

Key message

Cryopreservation provides valuable genes for further breeding of elite cultivars, and cryotherapy improves the production of virus-free plants in Malus spp., thus assisting the sustainable development of the apple industry.

Abstract

Apple (Malus spp.) is one of the most economically important temperate fruit crops. Wild Malus genetic resources and existing cultivars provide valuable genes for breeding new elite cultivars and rootstocks through traditional and biotechnological breeding programs. These valuable genes include those resistant to abiotic factors such as drought and salinity, and to biotic factors such as fungi, bacteria and aphids. Over the last three decades, great progress has been made in apple cryobiology, making Malus one of the most extensively studied plant genera with respect to cryopreservation. Explants such as pollen, seeds, in vivo dormant buds, and in vitro shoot tips have all been successfully cryopreserved, and large Malus cryobanks have been established. Cryotherapy has been used for virus eradication, to obtain virus-free apple plants. Cryopreservation provided valuable genes for further breeding of elite cultivars, and cryotherapy improved the production of virus-free plants in Malus spp., thus assisting the sustainable development of the apple industry. This review provides updated and comprehensive information on the development and progress of apple cryopreservation and cryotherapy. Future research will reveal new applications and uses for apple cryopreservation and cryotherapy.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Apical dome

ALCSV:

Apple leaf chlorotic spot virus

ApMV:

Apple mosaic virus

ASGV:

Apple stem grooving virus

ASPV:

Apple stem pitting virus

BA:

N6-benzyladenine

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

FWB:

Fresh weight basis

GA3 :

Gibberellic acid 3

IBA:

Indole-3-butyric acid

ISSR:

Inter-simple sequence repeat

JKI:

Julius Kühn Institute

LN:

Liquid nitrogen

LNV:

Liquid nitrogen vapor

LP:

Leaf primordium

MS:

Murashige and Skoog

NLGRP:

National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation

PVS:

Plant vitrification solution

PVS2:

Plant vitrification solution 2

PVS3:

Plant vitrification solution 3

RAPD:

Random amplified polymorphic DNA

RBDV:

Raspberry bushy dwarf virus

RH:

Relative humidity

TTC:

2, 3, 5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution

USDA:

United States Department of Agriculture

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the use of published data from Monika Höfer, Julius Kühn Institute, Dresden, Germany. They also thank Jean Carlos Bettoni for providing an internal review of the manuscript. Financial support was received from the Department of Science and Technology of Shaanxi Province, China (2014KTCL02-05) (Q. Wang) and USDA Agricultural Research Service in-house appropriated funds Project Number 3012-21000-014-00D (G. Volk).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Region, College of Horticulture, Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Min-Rui Wang, Long Chen & Qiao-Chun Wang

  2. P. O. Box 7, Miki-cho Post Office, Ikenobe 3011-2, Kagawa-ken, 761-0799, Japan

    Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva

  3. National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation, 1111 S. Mason St, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA

    Gayle M. Volk

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  1. Min-Rui Wang
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  2. Long Chen
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  3. Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva
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  4. Gayle M. Volk
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  5. Qiao-Chun Wang
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Correspondence to Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva, Gayle M. Volk or Qiao-Chun Wang.

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Wang, MR., Chen, L., Teixeira da Silva, J.A. et al. Cryobiotechnology of apple (Malus spp.): development, progress and future prospects. Plant Cell Rep 37, 689–709 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-018-2249-x

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