Evaluation of droplet-vitrification, vacuum infiltration vitrification and encapsulation-dehydration for cryopreservation of Syzygium maire zygotic embryos

Syzygium maire is a threatened tree species with limited information on long-term storage options for its recalcitrant seed. The objective of this research is to evaluate the cryopreservation of S. maire zygotic embryo axes (EA) using dehydration, encapsulation-dehydration as well as PVS2 vitrification using droplet vitrification (DV) and the novel droplet vacuum infiltration vitrification (DVIV) methods. It has been found that S. maire embryos are sensitive to desiccation and likely require physical, chemical or a combination of protection methods to increase embryo survival and plantlet formation following cryopreservation