Phloroglucinol enhances recovery and survival of cryopreserved Dendrobium nobile protocorms

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of phloroglucinol in the recovery and survival of cryopreserved Dendrobium nobile protocorms. The exposure of protocorms to 2 M glycerol osmoprotective solution for 20 min followed by 10 min in PVS2 vitrification solution with 1% phloroglucinol resulted in the highest protocorm recovery and survival (68%). A positive effect of phloroglucinol was observed when combined with glycerol and PVS2. Phloroglucinol added at 1% provided an increase of over 100% in protocorm recovery and survival as compared to the same treatment without phloroglucinol. However, when sucrose was added to treatments, a negative effect was observed with a reduction in survival by 90%. Protocorms that survived cryopreservation were successfully regenerated into plants and acclimatized with 100% survival in greenhouse. Survival of cryopreserved D. nobile protocorms was a determining factor for seedling survival and growth into normal and fully functional plants. This study demonstrated an efficient procedure for cryopreservation and subsequent recovery and survival of cryopreserved D. nobile protocorms using phloroglucinol as a cryoprotectant additive.