Conservation of genetic resources naturally occurring as recalcitrant seeds

Conservation of the genetic resources of many species is effectively precluded by their production of seeds that are hydrated, desiccation-sensitive and storable only for the short-term. The only means of conservation of such species has been, and largely still is, in the form of the growing plants in field genebanks. In the relatively recent past, however, efforts have been made to cryopreserve the germplasm of many species, but, with only a few exceptions, these have met with either limited, or no, success. Reasons for this are broadly examined, and particularized in the case of the pedunculate oak, for which the bases of lethal vs. successful handling of excised zygotic axes are analysed.