Biodiversity and Conservation of Vanilla Species

An In Vitro Culture Approach

Abstract
By: Nurul JADID
Vanilla, a fleshy perennial vine with a highly important substance called vanillin,
is the most widely used flavoring material, which makes it as the most expensive spice.
World demand for vanilla was around 32,000 tonnes and the demand for natural vanillin is
increasing at the rate of 7-10 tonnes per annum. Therefore, its production has become very
important and will probably cause serious natural damage to its biodiversity. Its species
diversity is represented by five species, Vanilla aphylla, V. walkeriae, V. wightiana, V.
pilifera and V. andamica, and most of them are considered as endangered species.
The international congress on Vanilla in 2003 emphasized the need to conserve
these species from the influence of habitat destruction, over collection, climate changes and
destructive diseases in the monoculture system before they really go extinct. Vanilla is
usually propagated by stem cuttings. Hence, an intense work of selection, breeding and
conservation of genetic resources is obviously required to overcome the problem of the
narrow genetic base of this vegetatively propagated crop.
The establishment of the biotechnological approach via plant tissue culture will be
described as an alternative way to safeguard plant biodiversity. Thus, several modification
techniques such as the slow growth micropropagation system – a technique for reducing
minimal growth in vanilla and to increase subculture intervals - , the development of
synthetic seed (synseed) – an artificial encapsulated somatic embryo, shoots, or other
tissues - will also be explained.
The results of in vitro culture experiments revealed that a high multiple shoot
development of vanilla culture using its axillary bud required the intervention of the liquid
medium. The slow growth system in MS medium containing 15 g/l sucrose and mannitol
could reduce the interval of its subculture and there would be no subcultural treatment
within 1 year. Subsequently, regarding to the development of synseed technology, the use
of a temperature storage system seems to be necessary, and the results of the experiment
showed that the optimal temperature is about 22 ± 2 0C. Thus, the synseed technology and
in vitro conservation system could be utilized to overcome the conservation problem of
vanilla species.