Ex situ collections of algae, cyanobacteria, and plant materials (cell cultures, hairy and adventitious root cultures, shoots, etc.) maintained in vitro or in liquid nitrogen (−196 °C, LN) are valuable sources of strains with unique ecological and biotechnological traits. Such collections play a vital role in bioresource conservation, science, and industry development but are rarely covered in publications. Here, we provide an overview of five genetic collections maintained at the Institute of Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPPRAS) since the 1950–1970s using in vitro and cryopreservation approaches. These collections represent different levels of plant organization, from individual cells (cell culture collection) to organs (hairy and adventitious root cultures, shoot apices) to in vitro plants. The total collection holdings comprise more than 430 strains of algae and cyanobacteria, over 200 potato clones, 117 cell cultures, and 50 strains of hairy and adventitious root cultures of medicinal and model plant species. The IPPRAS plant cryobank preserves in LN over 1000 specimens of in vitro cultures and seeds of wild and cultivated plants belonging to 457 species and 74 families. Several algae and plant cell culture strains have been adapted for cultivation in bioreactors from laboratory (5–20-L) to pilot (75-L) to semi-industrial (150–630-L) scale for the production of biomass with high nutritive or pharmacological value. Some of the strains with proven biological activities are currently used to produce cosmetics and food supplements. Here, we provide an overview of the current collections’ composition and major activities, their use in research, biotechnology, and commercial application. We also highlight the most interesting studies performed with collection strains and discuss strategies for the collections’ future development and exploitation in view of current trends in biotechnology and genetic resources conservation.

In our study, two aggressive-invasive species, Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl. and Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden. from Russia and Ukraine, were investigated. The success in naturalization of both species is associated with human activities, since they have been used in agriculture and floriculture and both have qualities such as environmental tolerance, high fertility and phenotypic plasticity. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of genetic diversity of both species. For Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden., genetic diversity was compared in invasive and native populations. For Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl., the genetic diversity was compared in variety, feral and invasive populations. A genetic diversity was formulated using RAPD, ISSR and REMAP. For Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden., the average genetic diversity within the invasive population was similar (0.432), but slightly less (0.502) than within the native Caucasian population. This may suggest the successful naturalization of invaders and almost complete reconstruction of their genetic diversity. For Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl., the genetic diversity for the invasive population was the highest, with an average of 0.294, while for variety, it was the lowest, with an average of 0.194. The feral population had an intermediate place with an average of 0.248, which could suggest an increase of diversity in the process of naturalization.

Cryopreservation is considered to be one of the most effective methods for long-term storage of plant genetic resources, particularly for ornamental species. However, there is a very little research on cryopreservation of lilacs. In this study, for the first time the cryopreservation protocol (a variation of a pregrowth-dehydration method) was successfully applied to two cultivars of Syringa vulgaris: ‘Aucubaefolia’ and ‘Polina Osipenko’. Explants of both cultivars were able to withstand the different steps of the protocol, and high survival and regrowth percentages were obtained after exposure to liquid nitrogen (67–100% and 63–88%, respectively). The current study is mainly focused on the preculture conditions of the applied method. Based on our results, we propose the use of paclobutrazol (PBZ) with the combination of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and thidiazuron (TDZ) in the preculture medium for increasing explant tolerance to subsequent dehydration and freezing. During post-LN recovery, the explants appeared morphologically normal, and after 12–16 weeks after thawing, they were propagated and cultured as normal plantlets. Therefore, the reported method is effective for long-term storage of lilac meristems and could be used to create a cryobank of achievements in lilac breeding.

The effects of bright light and high temperature stresses on the genetic diversity of a Fragaria vesca L. clone recovered from meristems frozen in liquid nitrogen after two years of cultivation in vitro were analyzed. After two-year cultivation in vitro of post-cryogenic plant material, the percentage of polymorphic DNA-markers, which was half (4.5%) of its initial value after cryopreservation, immediately returned to its initial value (9%). The Shannon index increased insignificantly. The stress effects of high temperature or bright sunlight stress effects on plantlets of the post-cryogenic clone recovered after two years liquid nitrogen did not cause the appearance of additional polymorphic fragments or significant changes in the Shannon Index.