Christiane Gaméné

Ex situ conservation strategies for Vitellaria paradoxa and Parkia biglobosa seeds

Christiane Yaméogo-Gaméné, PhD with Kew's Millennium Seed Bank

Christiane carrying out her research in the labs at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank (Image: RBG Kew)

“After graduating as a Forest Engineer, I worked at the Centre National de Semences Forestières (CNSF) in Burkina Faso. CNSF is the national office in charge of promoting the use of local tree species and supplying seed for afforestation programmes and it also has a seed bank. I was involved in the seed technology programme where I was working on seed germination and storage. I have collaborated with Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank since 1996, initially through a DANIDA-funded research project.

Since 2002, I have been conducting post-graduate studies with the support of CNSF and the MSBP. I completed my master’s degree on the in vitro culture of Vitellaria paradoxa in 2003, and I am currently writing up my PhD on the ex situ conservation of two socio-economically important species, Parkia biglobosa and Vitellaria paradoxa. Both species, which grow only in sub-saharan Africa, are listed as 'vulnerable'.

In my PhD I have characterized germination in relation to the habitat in which the species grow; generated viability constants for the long-term seed storage of P. biglobosa; determined differences in desiccation tolerance between V. paradoxa seedlots and assessed the macro and micro-propagation capacity in V. paradoxa.

My work has been carried out jointly at the Agricultural University in Gembloux, where I was supervised by Prof Patrick Du Jardin, and at the Millennium Seed Bank, under the tutelage of Prof Hugh W. Pritchard. I collaborated also with Dr Philippe Druart of the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre in Gembloux and received excellent support from various departmental staff in the UK and Belgium.”