Phenotypic characterization of the progenies of rice plants derived from cryopreserved calli

The progenies of rice plants (Oryza sativa L.) differentiated from calli that had been cryopreserved and from control (non-cryopreserved) calli were used to study the influence of selection pressure during cryopreservation. The phenotypic evaluation of these progenies was based mainly on the response of seedlings and calli to freezing stress and on the characterization of protoplast and cell populations by flow cytometric analyses. The patterns of response to freezing stress, as well as the variations in some morphological and physiological cell parameters, were unrelated to the origin (cryopreserved or control calli) of the parental plants.