Data from: In-vitro cultivation of liveforevers (genus Dudleya) to reduce poaching and extinction

The genus Dudleya consists of many rare and endangered species. Recently,
poaching has emerged as a critical threat to the continued survival of
these plants in the wild. Conservationists will typically store seeds and
grow new plants, but this method could limit propagation if viability and
seed availably is unreliable. Nursery growing efforts have been limited by
unreliable and scarce seed sources, and challenges to maintaining
genetically isolated populations, as Dudleya species readily hybridize.
Micropropagation can overcome these challenges by exponentially cloning
plants to deflate poaching incentives. This project made progress toward
developing an aseptic culture method of propagation of Dudleya, meaning
growing plants in a sterile growing environment. First, I compared the
propagation of in-vitro and ex-vitro grown seeds to understand if in-vitro
culture enhances germination, survival, and growth. Second, I compared
nine decontamination protocols to determine which one is in better at
minimizing microbial contamination and damage to plant
tissue. For seeds, the germination rate varied among treatments
and species. Plants grew larger ex-vitro (in the greenhouse), but
experienced mortality, whereas all seedlings survived in-vitro (in
culture). For cuttings, I found that NaDCC (sodium dichloroisocyanura)
resulted in less contamination and necrosis than bleach. An effective
method of applying NaDCC was identified to introduce rare cuttings of
select Dudleya species into in-vitro culture. This research provides a
foundation for conservationists to continue to optimize the
micropropagation process, and also provides an effective tool for
germplasm storage.