CHENNAI: Soon genes from plants can be stored for over 1,000 years. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) is building a cryobank—a gene bank that uses cold liquid nitrogen—to preserve germplasms of plants in temperatures as low as -196 degree Celsius.Gene banks are safe locations for germplasm—living genetic resources such as seeds or tissues of animal and plant—against catastrophe and loss in purity. These banks are also used by researchers and plant breeders. A typical gene bank would preserve seeds or vegetative tissues at extreme low humidity and temperatures.
“By keeping the moisture low, we increase the life of seeds,” said Ganesh Ram, head of the department, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, TNAU.The K Ramaiah Gene Bank, in TNAU Coinbatore, has successfully preserved over 27,000 germplasms since its inception in 2010.
The bank has a repository of germplasms of various types of rice, maize, millets, cotton and medicinal plants, preserved in two kinds of storage: medium-term (20-30 years at five degrees Celsius) and long-term (up to 60 years at -20 degrees celcius).About one lakh different germplasms can be stored in K Ramaiah Gene Bank of which half is accounted for by medium-term storage and the other half by long-term.
What is a cryobank?
The word cryo in Greaek means cold. The gene banks preserve germplasm in extreme low temperatures thus preventing decay or degeneration
To prevent microbial growth, they couple the cooling with
low humidity. Once the atmosphere is arid, the relative humidity between the atmosphere and the sample increases
The circulating air draws moisture from the samples, de-humidifying them