Cryopreservation of gametes for aquaculture and alternative cell sources for genome preservation
Résumé
In this chapter the benefits of short- to long-term storage of genetic material from aquatic species in liquid nitrogen are introduced. The biophysical and chemical challenges that arise during freeze-thawing are presented from the perspective of the large degree of structural and biological diversity found in fish, mollusc and crustacean gametes. Sperm cryopreservation procedures and the challenges raised by cryopreservation of oocytes and embryos or larvae are then discussed with a special focus on the importance of the genetic integrity of the thawed cells. Alternatives to the cryobanking of gametes and embryos rely on the cryopreservation of cells of somatic, embryonic and germinal origin. The challenges posed by the use of such cells to reconstruct fish are then described.