Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae Article ID: 9121 DOI: 10.5586/asbp.9121 Publication History Received: 2022-03-01 Accepted: 2022-07-07 Published: 2022-12-02 Handling Editor Magdalena Krzesłowska; Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland; https://orcid.org/0000-0001- 8320-8904 Authors’ Contributions All authors listed have made substantial, direct, and intellectual contributions to the work, and have approved it for publication. Funding This work was supported by the statutory research funds of the Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute – National Research Institute, Research Center Młochów; Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences; University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Department of Chemistry, Department of Plant Physiology, Genetics and Biotechnology; Kostrzyca Forest Gene Bank in Miłków; Bydgoszcz University of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Laboratory of Ornamental Plants and Vegetable Crops; and the Polish Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden, Center of Biological Diversity Conservation in Powsin. Competing Interests No competing interests have been declared. Copyright Notice © The Author(s) 2022. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits redistribution, commercial and noncommercial, provided that the article is properly cited. REVIEW in POLISH BOTANY CENTENNIAL Polish Cryobanks: Research and Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources Ewa Zimnoch-Guzowska 1* , Paweł Chmielarz 2 , Mikołaj K. Wawrzyniak 2 , Beata P. Plitta-Michalak 3 , Marcin Michalak 4 , Małgorzata Pałucka 5 , Urszula Wasileńczyk 5 , Paulina Kosek 5 , Dariusz Kulus 6 , Anna Rucińska 7 , Anna Mikuła 7 1 Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute – National Research Institute, Research Center Młochów, Platanowa 19, 05-831 Młochów, Poland 2 Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Parkowa 5, 62-035 Kórnik, Poland 3 Department of Chemistry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 4, 10-721 Olsztyn, Poland 4 Department of Plant Physiology, Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, M. Oczapowskiego 1A, 10-721 Olsztyn, Poland 5 Kostrzyca Forest Gene Bank, 58-535 Miłków, Poland 6 Laboratory of Ornamental Plants and Vegetable Crops, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Bernardyńska 6, 85-029 Bydgoszcz, Poland 7 Polish Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden – Center for Biological Diversity Conservation in Powsin, Prawdziwka 2, 02-973 Warsaw, Poland * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: e.zimnoch-guzowska@ihar.edu.pl Abstract To date, the use of liquid nitrogen (LN) in plant gene banks is relatively limited. Globally, in 2021, approximately 10,000 accessions were cryopreserved, and their explants were derived from in vitro plants. In Europe, out of 500 banks, only 20 use cryogenic temperatures to store plant germplasms. e implementation of seven conservation projects in Poland starting in the 1990s meant that the gene banking system in this country began to gradually develop. Plant gene bank is mainly based on the collection of seeds and makes little use of plant tissues, including those from in vitro culture. From the point of view of systematics, plant material belonging to spermatophytes dominates in Polish gene banks, while spore plants are rarely represented. is review represents the first summary of gene cryobank activities and resources in Poland. It contains a brief overview of the ex situ plant protection programs aimed at the use of LN and presents the characteristics of four existing gene cryobanks in this country. Special attention is devoted to the presentation of studies on the cryopreservation of seeds, as well as of plant tissues, such as embryonic axes and plumules of trees, and fern gametophytes, that make a permanent contribution to gene bank resources. Keywords seeds; wild species; forest trees; herbaceous plants; apples; crops; ferns 1. Introduction Gene banks are international collections that collect, conserve, and make available accessions of crops, crop wild relatives, tree species, and endangered plants using procedures and conditions that uphold the highest standards. ey play an important role in advancing plant breeding programs (Ochatt et al., 2021) and protecting endangered species (Pence, 2011). Traditional tools of in situ and ex situ conservation are supplemented by cryopreservation techniques applied for the long-term storage of plant germplasms. Cryopreservation involves the cooling and storing of vegetal structures, such as seeds and pollen, as well as plant cells, tissues, Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae / 2022 / Volume 91 / Article 9121 Publisher: Polish Botanical Society 1