Viability and conservation of genipap tree pollen grains

Abstract

Conservation of plant genetic resources is vital for maintaining diversity for future use. The conservation of pollen grains is one of the tools complementary to conventional conservation strategies and plays an important role in breeding programs. Considering the importance of genipap trees and the lack of studies related to their floral biology and pollen conservation, the aim of this study was to evaluate the storage potential of pollen grains under different storage conditions. This study was conducted at the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory of Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, Aracaju, SE, Brazil. Flowers were collected in the preanthesis phase, and the pollen grains were placed in cryotubes and kept at different temperatures (i.e., 4°C, -20°C, -80°C, and -196°C) after extraction. Evaluations were performed after 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 days of storage. After 180 days, the germination percentage of the pollen tube was greater than 60.00% for all storage temperatures. The lowest percentage (60.21%) was observed under the storage condition of 4°C. Therefore, the other three temperatures are more highly recommended for ex situ conservation of pollen grains.