**6. Future focus**

In contrast to the prevailing attitude among conservation biologists, globally there is considerable interest among cryobiologists in the use of in vitro, cold and ultra-cold technology for germplasm conservation. The procedures for plant material are given indepth coverage by Reed et al. (2004) who stress equally the ecological and plant/germplasm health aspects preceeding and following storage. Panis and Lambardi (2006) discussed the evolution of technologies for plant material, covering cell suspensions and callus cultures of herbaceous species, pollen, shoot meristems, woody species, as well as seed and embryonic axes. The *ex situ* gene bank at Gatersleben in Germany houses 986 potato accessions are cryopreserved and trials on other species are performed (Börner 2006). The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi has over 702 accesion of various spices, medicinal and aromatic crops in its cryo gene bank (Table. 3). Keller *et al*. (2008) make the point that cryopreservation affords the best of conditions for the long-term maintenance of

(33.3; 72.1%). However, further studies should be initiated to improve regrowth of surviving

Concurrent with the advancements in gene cloning and transfer has been the development of technology for the removal and analysis of DNA. DNAs from the nucleus, mitochondrion and chloroplast are now routinely extracted and immobilized onto nitrocellulose sheets where the DNA can be probed with numerous cloned genes. In addition, the rapid development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) now means that one can routinely amplify specific oligonucleotides or genes from the entire mixture of genomic DNA.These advances, coupled with the prospect of the loss of significant plant genetic resources throughout the

The conserved DNA will have numerous uses viz, molecular phylogenetics and systematics of extinct taxa, production of previously characterized secondary compounds in transgenic cell cultures, production of transgenic plants using genes from gene families, *in vitro* expression and study of enzyme structure and function and genomic probes for research

The vast resources of dried specimens in the world's herbaria may hold considerable DNA that would be suitable for PCR. It seems likely that the integrity of DNA would decrease with the age of specimens. Because there are many types of herbarium storage environments, preservation and collections, there is a need for systematic investigations of the effect of modes of preparation, collection and storage on the integrity of DNA in the

The advantage of storing DNA is that it is efficient and simple and overcomes many physical limitations and constraints that characterize other forms of storage (Adams 1988, 1990, 1997, Adams and Adams 1991, Adams *et al* 1994). The disadvantage lies in problems with subsequent gene isolation, cloning and transfer but, most importantly, it does not allow the regeneration of live organisms (Maxted *et al*., 1997). DNA banking is yet to catch up in spices. DNA samples of over 600 genotypes of spices is stored in the DNA bank of Indian

In contrast to the prevailing attitude among conservation biologists, globally there is considerable interest among cryobiologists in the use of in vitro, cold and ultra-cold technology for germplasm conservation. The procedures for plant material are given indepth coverage by Reed et al. (2004) who stress equally the ecological and plant/germplasm health aspects preceeding and following storage. Panis and Lambardi (2006) discussed the evolution of technologies for plant material, covering cell suspensions and callus cultures of herbaceous species, pollen, shoot meristems, woody species, as well as seed and embryonic axes. The *ex situ* gene bank at Gatersleben in Germany houses 986 potato accessions are cryopreserved and trials on other species are performed (Börner 2006). The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi has over 702 accesion of various spices, medicinal and aromatic crops in its cryo gene bank (Table. 3). Keller *et al*. (2008) make the point that cryopreservation affords the best of conditions for the long-term maintenance of

world,have led to the establishment of DNA bank for the storage of genomic DNA.

embryogenic calluses and to study genetic stability after cryopreservation.

**5. DNA bank** 

laboratories.

world's major holdings.

**6. Future focus** 

Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Calicut.

plant material, particularly for vegetatively propagated species. Cryopreservation is the only viable method available for long-term preservation of the both plant and animal origin species. As an ultimate aim of cryoconservation is the reintroduction of preserved material into the field, it is appropriate at this point to consider the concept of restoration a little more closely. In terms of ultimate ecosystem restoration, the possibilities raised by in vitro conservation, including cryoconservation, do not mean that species selection should merely take random advantage of what germplasm has or can be conserved as there are many genetic, physiological and phenotypic considerations to be taken into account (Kramer and Havens 2009).

The establishment and maintenance of biological resource centers (BRCs) or germplasm conservatories requires careful attention to implementation of reliable preservation technologies and appropriate quality control to ensure that recovered cultures and other biological materials perform in the same way as the originally isolated culture or material. There are many types of BRC that vary both in the kinds of material they hold and in the purposes for which the materials are provided. All BRCs are expected to provide materials and information of an appropriate quality for their application and work to standards relevant to those applications. There are important industrial, biomedical, and conservation issues that can only be addressed through effective and efficient operation of BRCs in the long term. This requires a high degree of expertise in the maintenance and management of collections of biological materials at ultra-low temperatures, or as freeze dried material, to secure their long-term integrity and relevance for future research, development, and conservation. The application of cryogenic preservation in biotechnology and medicine has recently been a topic of interest. The use of cryogenic preservation in this area has given new horizon to this field of applications.
