Cryopreservation of Shoot Tips and Meristems: An Overview of Contemporary Methodologies

Cryopreservation is the storage of viable bioresources at ultra-low temperatures in liquid nitrogen (LN). This chapter provides an overview of those protocols most commonly used to cryopreserve in vitro derived shoot tips and meristems; they are described generically, as sequential technical steps, including preparative and cryogenic treatments and the morphogenetic assessment of recovery. The importance of translating research-generated methods into formal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is considered.