The long-term storage and maintenance of viable plant cells and organs
is an area of active concern across the range of pure and applied plant
sciences. In academic, government and commercial laboratories, the
extended storage of propagules of one sort or another, with maximum
protection of the genome from mutation and altered expression, is often
a very necessary activity that can draw heavily on resources and effort.
However, preservation per se is typically not an activity in its own
right, but a facilitating technology that is part of a larger programme
of work. Consequently, there are many laboratories that do not have the
benefit of a specialist in storage technology, and have to delegate the
responsibility to individuals, or teams, who are faced with a daunting
learning curve. To maximise the chances of success, in the shortest
possible time and with minimum losses, these researchers need sources of
reference that are au- thoritative and soundly based in practical
experience.