Cryotherapy of shoot tips: novel pathogen eradication method.

Cryotherapy is a novel application of plant cryopreservation techniques that allows pathogen eradication at a high frequency. It eliminates plant pathogens such as viruses, phytoplasmas and bacteria by briefly treating shoot tips in liquid nitrogen using cryopreservation protocols. Healthy plants are regenerated from the surviving pathogen-free meristematic tissue. The method facilitates treatment of large numbers of samples and is independent of shoot tip size. It has the potential to replace more traditional methods like meristem culture.