Preservation of the genome of sweet cherry (Cerasus avium (L.) Moench.) in cryopreservation conditions

Sweet cherry (Cerasus avium (L.) Moench.) is an endangered species in Iran, which necessitates the preservation of its genome. Cryopreservation condition storage is an efficient way for long-term maintenance of the germplasm. To store sweet cherry seeds in cryopreservation conditions in this study, the first treatment was to dehydrate seeds to prevent free water crystallization and rupture of the plasma membrane at cryo temperatures. Therefore, 30% glycerol pretreatments, vitrification solution, and reduction of seed moisture were used before entering liquid nitrogen. The treated seeds were exposed to heat shock after taking out from liquid nitrogen, followed by examination of their seed survival and germination. The nitrogen control treatment showed the highest survival and germination percentage. Some cryopreservation treatments reduced germination percentage, since they reduced seed moisture. Furthermore, the highest germination percentage (40%) was found in seeds that were not treated with any moisture reduction. Therefore, cryopreservation preservatives impair seed germination. As a result, the amount of moisture in the seed is the minimum amount of moisture needed for survival and germination, and reducing the moisture will damage the seed embryo. Thus, by using cryopreservation technology and applying pretreatment without reducing moisture, the seeds were collected from four different regions and stored in the cryopreservation bank of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands in Iran, in order to preserve this species for long term.