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DNA preservation and utility of a historic seed collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

Matti W. Leino ,
Jenny Hagenblad ,
Johan Edqvist  and
Else-Marie Karlsson Strese
Matti W. Leino*
Affiliation:
Swedish Museum of Cultural History, SE-643 98Julita, Sweden IFM-Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83Linköping, Sweden
Jenny Hagenblad
Affiliation:
Plant Ecology, EBC, Uppsala University, SE-752 36Uppsala, Sweden
Johan Edqvist
Affiliation:
IFM-Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83Linköping, Sweden
Else-Marie Karlsson Strese
Affiliation:
Swedish Museum of Cultural History, SE-643 98Julita, Sweden
*
*Correspondence Email: Matti.Leino@nordiskamuseet.se
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Abstract

Historic collections of biological material are important genetic resources for taxonomic, evolutionary and historical research. In this paper we describe a seed collection dating from 1862 to 1918 maintained at the Swedish Museum of Cultural History. The collection contains over 3000 well-documented seed samples of various agricultural crops, mostly cereals. A subset of 100 samples divided over ten species frequently represented in the collection and a range of ages were tested for germinability and DNA preservation. None of these accessions were found to contain viable seeds. DNA extracted from the seeds was degraded, but the amount of degradation varied between species. DNA quality was evaluated by yield, fragment size and size of amplification product. Quality was highest for DNA extracted from Pisum sativum and Vicia sativa. DNA extracted from Brassica napus, Beta vulgaris and Trifolium pratense was more fragmented, and DNA extracted from Triticum aestivum, Secale sereale, Hordeum vulgare, Avena sativa and Phleum pratense was most degraded. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of ribosomal DNA fragments of up to 700 bp was permitted for most samples in all species. To test whether single-copy nuclear genes could be amplified from the extracted DNA, microsatellite markers were used on the Pisum sativum and Hordeum vulgare samples. Polymorphisms of microsatellite markers were detected between samples for both species. The results show that the 19th-century seed collection can be utilized to infer genetic relationships among obsolete cultivars as well as for other types of genetic research based on sequence or marker analysis.

Keywords

aged seedDNAgenebankmicrosatellitesplant genetic resourcesstability
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 125 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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