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The Role of Water in the Cryopreservation of Seeds

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Book cover Water Stress in Biological, Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Food Systems

Part of the book series: Food Engineering Series ((FSES))

Abstract

Plant genetic resources are vitally important for human beings and the sustainability of the planet. Biodiversity conservation is the practice of protecting and preserving the abundance and variety of all species (Lambardi et al. 2004; Walters 2006). Neotropical ecosystems are submitted to constant pressure by human activity; in these ecosystems the number of plants at risk of genetic depletion or extinction and the loss of important genetic resources is continuously increasing. Preservation of plant biodiversity avoids the risk that species and plant varieties may become extinct, producing a definitive loss of their genetic variability. Preservation of plants only in field collections is risky, as valuable germplasm can be lost (genetic erosion) because of pests, diseases, and adverse weather conditions.

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Abbreviations

ΔH L :

Lipid melting enthalpy

ΔH T :

Total enthalpy

db:

Dry basis

DSC:

Differential scanning calorimetry

ERH%:

Equilibrium relative humidity

GAB:

Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer equation

l:

Latent heat of ice melting

LN:

Liquid nitrogen

RH:

Relative humidity

wb:

Wet mass basis

WC:

Water content of the seeds

WC50 :

Seed desiccation sensitivity

WCu :

Unfrozen water content

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, UNLP-CONICET, 47 y 116, La Plata, 1900, Argentina

    N. E. Zaritzky

  2. Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Ingeniería, UNLP, La Plata, Argentina

    N. E. Zaritzky

Authors
  1. N. E. Zaritzky
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. E. Zaritzky .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Bilógicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, Mexico

    Gustavo F. Gutiérrez-López

  2. Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Bilógicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, Mexico

    Liliana Alamilla-Beltrán

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María del Pilar Buera

  4. Departamento de Biotecnologia e Ingenieria, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Jorge Welti-Chanes

  5. Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Bilógicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Distrito Federal, Mexico

    Efrén Parada-Arias

  6. Food Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

    Gustavo V. Barbosa-Cánovas

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Zaritzky, N.E. (2015). The Role of Water in the Cryopreservation of Seeds. In: Gutiérrez-López, G., Alamilla-Beltrán, L., del Pilar Buera, M., Welti-Chanes, J., Parada-Arias, E., Barbosa-Cánovas, G. (eds) Water Stress in Biological, Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Food Systems. Food Engineering Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2578-0_17

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