Taronga Zoo and Taronga Western Plains Zoo have been cryopreserving cells of reef-building coral species from the Great Barrier Reef.

Samples of sperm and other cells are stored in the world's largest frozen repository of living coral, which is located at the zoo's CryoDiversity Banks in Dubbo and Sydney.

Every year experts in the industry, including Traonga Western Plains Zoo reproductive biologist Rebecca Hobbs, converge at the National Sea Simulator in Townsville. The simulator, which is operated by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, allows coral to release their egg and sperm bundles in the same way and timing as they would in nature.

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"Following this year's spawning event the Taronga CryoDiversity Bank Great Barrier Reef collection now includes cells from 26 species of coral and is the largest frozen repository of living coral in the world," Dr Hobbs said.

"Over the six spawning nights last November, our team banks samples from 79 individual colonies of 15 different coral species, with five new species being added to the CryoDiversity Bank this year."

Dr Hobbs said the CryoDiversity Bank, like a seed bank, was a living vault.

"We can thaw out cells decades, or even centuries, from now to produce living coral offspring. Providing that a healthy habitat exists, these offspring can bolster the genetic diversity of priority coral populations and help ensure their long-term survival," she said.

Taronga's manager of conservation science Justine O'Brien said cyro-repositories of living coral cells and tissues were an important biological resource for scientists and conservation managers.

"Taronga's CryoDiversity Bank is allowing us to learn more about coral biology and provide genetically diverse coral cells for use in preservation and repair of the Great Barrier Reef," Dr O'Brien said.

"The Taronga CryoDiversity Bank now has coral species represented from northern, central and southern regions of he Great Barrier Reef and each year we continue to build on the genetic diversity of the cryo-repository across our two zoos."

Taronga has been involved in the Reef Recovery Program since 2011. Every year a team is sent to collect, assess and cryopreserve as much coral material as possible for the CryoDiversity banks.