Abstract:
Platycerium ridleyi H. Christ. is an attractive rare epiphytic fern. Due to environmental changes,
deforestation, wild fern trade, and other factors, they are nearly extinct from their natural habitat.
Therefore, conservation of this fern is urgently needed. In this study, the possibility of producing it in
vitro from spore culture, using cryopreservation techniques to preserve its sporophytic tissue, as well as
mass production from juvenile frond culture were explored. Sporophyte stage of P. ridleyi was induced
from spore culture in a liquid and semi-solid Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium, as well as in a
combination of both media. The young sporophytes were later selected as materials for
cryopreservation purpose. Two cryopreservation techniques, i.e. encapsulation/ dehydration and
encapsulation/ vitrification were tested. Factors influencing the successful cryopreservation of the
young sporophyte, including preculture length and media, as well as dehydration processes were
observed. For the study of mass production from frond culture, both cryopreserved and noncryopreserved
materials were used.
The results indicated that young sporophytes could be successfully induced from spore culture
within 6 months in a liquid MS medium at 25 ± 2°C, with 16 hours illumination per day at the intensity
of 20 μmol m-2s-1. They were subcultured to a fresh medium every month. Since young sporophytes
responded well to a semi-solid condition, after six months in a liquid medium, they were transferred to
semi-solid MS medium. During 12 months in culture, almost 90 % of the materials developed into
sporophytes. For both cryopreservation techniques, the young sporophytes were encapsulated with
3 % sodium alginate and calcium chloride. The encapsulated materials that underwent preculture
process had a significantly improved regrowth rate of cryopreserved materials. For encapsulation/
dehydration technique, there were no discrepancies among results when different amounts of sucrose
were supplemented into the preculture medium, i.e. 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 M. A prolonged preculture
duration from 1, 2 and 3 days did not show an apparent effect on the results. However, the regrowth
rates were positively correlated to the duration of dehydration, which ranged from between 0 to 9 hours,
and air flow at 0.35 m/s. When the dehydration time was longer than 4 h, almost 100 % regrowth rate
was observed. For encapsulation/ vitrification technique, amount of sucrose in preculture media, as well
as the preculture time showed significant effect on the results. After 3 days preculture in semi-solid MS
media containing 0.7 M sucrose, 20 min incubation in loading solution containing MS liquid medium
supplemented with 2 M glycerol and 0.4 M sucrose and subsequent 150 min exposure to PVS2, the
cryopreserved beads showed the highest growth rate of 56.7 %. Each of the 8 week old cryopreserved
materials that were recultured on semi-solid MS medium could develop up to 80 new sporophytes.
Morphological abnormality was not observed. Similar to the non-cryopreserved juvenile frond,
cryopreserved materials could produce up to 50 new sporophytes on each strip after 8 weeks in culture.
There was no morphologically difference among them.
The in vitro spore culture of Platycerium ridleyi could produce several young sporophytes in a
relatively short time compared to other methods. These young sporophytes were suitable material for
long-term germplasm storage in liquid nitrogen, which could also be used for a reintroduction program
in the future.