Cryopreservation of embryonic axes of jackfruit by vitrification

Embryonic axes of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamk. cv. 'Thong Prasert') were successfully cryopreserved by vitrification. Embryonic axes from fully mature seeds were excised and precultured on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) supplemented with 0.3 M sucrose and 0.5 M glycerol at 25 degrees C for 16 h. Subsequently the axes were transferred to a 1.8 ml cryotube filed with a highly concentrated vitrification solution (PVS2) at 25 degrees C for 50 min. The axes were immediately plunged into liquid nitrogen. After rapid warming, PVS2 was replaced with 0.5 mi of 1.2 M sucrose in WPM solution and kept at 25 degrees C for 20 min prior to culture on WPM agar medium. Survival rate from cryopreservation was about 50% and the cryopreserved axes were able to develop into whole plantlets.