Antioxidants and improved regrowth procedure facilitated cryoconservation of Paphiopedilum insigne Wall. Ex. Lindl. - An Endangered Slipper Orchid.

Orchids and their sustainability are very important issues that need global conservation efforts. Paphiopedilum insigne (an endangered orchid), is one of the most excessively exploited species of orchids and is mentioned in the IUCN Red List and Appendix I of CITES. The prospect for conservation and commercialization of this species would be strengthened with the development of improved cryopreservation techniques. This study reports on successful cryopreservation of protocorms of P.insigne after cryopreservation using vitrification (Vit) and encapsulation-vitrification (E-Vit) techniques. The study compared the addition of four antioxidants to the pretreatment and recovery stages, three growth media, and agitated vs. semisolid culture medium for initial recovery. Recovery after cryopreservation for the control was 27% for Vit and 37% for E-Vit. In both cases agitated culture produced improved recovery by about 10%, but with significantly better recovery with E-Vit. The best recovery (51.2 ± 0.9%) was recorded for 0.5 M sucrose precultured encapsulated protocorms treated for 45 min with PVS2 and recovered in ½ MS (L/S) liquid medium for 10 days under agitation, followed by transfer to semi-solid medium. This recovery was further enhanced (62.7 ± 0.5%) with the incorporation of 30 μM glutathione in both liquid preculture and the liquid and semisolid regrowth medium. This new protocol improved the E-Vit cryopreservation recovery from the initial 37%-63%, providing a suitable technique for storage of this threatened orchid.