Improving Culture Initiation of Mature Oak Shoots Through Use of Silver Thiosulfate

In an effort to improve ex situ conservation strategies, we investigated the effect that silver thiosulfate (STS) would have on the survival of cultured mature oak shoots. Fresh shoots were collected from mature individuals of five different oak species and cultured onto medium with and without STS. What we found was that overall there was a significant increase in the survival rate of shoots cultured onto medium containing STS compared to shoots cultured on the control medium.