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 b...仙女杯属（Dudleya）包含诸多珍稀濒危物种。近年来，盗采已成为这些野生植物持续存续的重大威胁。自然保护工作者通常会储存种子并培育新植株，但倘若种子活力与可获得性不可靠，该方法可能会限制繁殖进程。苗圃培育工作受限于种子来源不可靠且稀缺，以及维持遗传隔离种群的难题——因仙女杯属物种极易发生杂交。微繁殖技术可通过指数级克隆繁育植株以削弱盗采动机，从而克服上述挑战。本项目在开发仙女杯属植物的无菌培养繁殖方法方面取得了进展，即借助无菌生长环境培育植株。首先，本研究对比了离体（in-vitro）培养与非离体（ex-vitro）培育的种子繁殖效果，以探究离体培养是否能提升种子萌发率、存活率与生长态势。其次，本研究对比了九种消毒方案，以确定其中最优方案（原文此处截断为"in b..."）。