Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden will conduct research to improve safety and efficiency of cryopreserving exceptional plant collections, with a focus on oak species. The project will address the challenges of preserving exceptional plant species – those species which cannot be banked using conventional seed banking methods. To increase the success rate of survival in cryopreserved plants, project staff will assess and characterize varying factors of collecting plant tissue cultures. To ensure that collections can be safely backed up at more than one facility, project staff will develop research-backed safety duplication protocols. Project results will be shared online through publicly available resources and databases designed to help practitioners develop protocols tailored to their institution’s collections of exceptional plants.