Variability in storage response within a coffee (Coffea spp.) core collection under slow growth conditions

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Biology
• Conservation Genetics

Background:

• Establishing and conserving plant germplasm is crucial for biodiversity preservation and crop improvement.
• In vitro conservation offers a method for long-term storage of plant genetic resources.
• African coffee (Coffea spp.) is a vital economic crop facing genetic erosion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish and conserve an in vitro core collection of African coffee germplasm.
• To analyze survival rates and genetic drift within the conserved germplasm.
• To assess the genetic representativity of the in vitro collection.

Main Methods:

• Development of an in vitro core collection structured into 32 diploid diversity groups.
• Conservation under slow growth conditions for 3 years with 6 subcultures.
• Statistical modeling and survival analysis to evaluate accession survival rates.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated significant variability in accession survival rates under in vitro slow growth conditions.
• Confirmed the importance of intraspecific structuring for conservation effectiveness.
• Identified intra- and inter-group differences impacting the genetic representativity of the collection.

Conclusions:

• In vitro conservation of African coffee germplasm requires careful monitoring of survival and genetic drift.
• Structuring germplasm at the intraspecific level is essential for maintaining genetic diversity.
• Conservation continuation was pragmatically determined by limiting intra-group genetic drift to below 50%.