Scientists have begun a process to save native endangered plant species being destroyed by the fungus, myrtle rust. Flora such as the native guava and rainforest shrubs have been the heaviest effected.
A team from the University of Queensland’s Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation department are conducting testing involving cryogenically preserving tissue from the most endangered plants of the Myrtle family (myrtaceae).
There are approximately 1,700 species of trees and scrubs in Australia that form part of the myrtaceae, making it one of the biggest specie families nationally.
UQ’s Dr Alice Hayward said the spread of myrtle rust has put hundreds of species under threat of extinction.
“Myrtle rust affects the ability of the worst impacted species to reproduce and some of these species are no longer producing seed in the wild,” she said.
“We are trying to preserve those species that we know are at most risk of extinction in the immediate future, to capture that biodiversity before it’s too late.”
The major testing will be undertaken in laboratories at UQ before the species will be taken to the Australian PlantBank and stored in a cryopreservation tank.
“We are doing something important that can contribute to protecting the unique Australian biodiversity and environment that we call home.”
Dr Hayward is hopeful that through testing the researchers involved will be able to preserve some of our most endangered species of Flora.
“To prevent them from being wiped out by the fungus, we are hoping to bring those species into the lab and place them into a frozen but living state using a process called cryopreservation.”
UQ’s Dr Chris O’Brien said the research and testing component of the trial was tedious and takes time to create a successful method.
“To develop a cryopreservation protocol for each species you must optimise every step of the process to ensure the survival of the shoot tip, which is a lot of work,” he said.
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