BACKGROUND: The use of the model plant Arabidopsis could be a valuable tool to elucidate the basic mechanisms involved in plant cryopreservation.
Objective: A simple and powerful protocol, independent of Arabidopsis genotypes, was established using a PVS2 protocol.
Materials and methods: Two PVS2 (a and b), one PVS3 droplet-vitrification and one DMSO droplet-freezing protocol were tested with alternating temperatures during the growing phase of donor plants.
Results: PVS2 protocols, including cold acclimation of donor plants, resulted in highest recovery. The PVS2a protocol was successfully applied to a collection of different Arabidopsis genotypes with an average recovery of 94%. In addition, Differential Scanning Calorimetry confirmed the occurrence of glass transitions in the PVS3 and PVS2 protocols.
Conclusion: The PVS2a protocol is suitable to screen the large collection of Arabidopsis mutants and transgenic lines with the aim to identify cellular functions associated with cryopreservation tolerance.