Conservation of plant genetic resources

1971 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 248-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Hawkes

Higher yields, better quality, easier harvesting, resistance to pests and diseases are a few of the many existing reasons why improved crop varieties are required. Other—as yet unsuspected—needs can arise in the future as a consequence of the rapidly changing patterns of agriculture. Under these circumstances, plant breeders require large reservoirs of genetic material. The management and exploitation of such resources are only now beginning to receive the attention they deserve.

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1629
Author(s):  
Jae-Sung Lee ◽  
Dmytro Chebotarov ◽  
John Damien Platten ◽  
Kenneth McNally ◽  
Ajay Kohli

International genebanks have a collection of over 760 K conserved accessions of various plants, most of these accessions are within the multi-lateral system governed by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). However, in spite of the success in collection and conservation, only a small portion of the genetic diversity has been used in crop breeding programs. As climate change-induced new or enhanced constraints seriously hamper crop productions, researchers and breeders should be able to swiftly choose an appropriate set of genetic resources from the genebank and use them for improving crop varieties. Here, we present some advanced technologies that can effectively promote the use of diverse rice accessions held at national/international genebanks. High throughput phenotyping using multispectral imaging systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) can quickly screen large numbers of accessions for various useful traits. Such data, when combined with that from the digital rice genebank consisting of genome sequencing data, will significantly increase the efficiency in breeding efforts. Recent genome sequencing data of the rice wild species will also add to the resources available for pre-breeding efforts such as the introgression of useful genes into modern rice varieties. We expect that these advanced technologies and strategies developed through the global rice research programs will be applicable for many closely related species as well.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby Hodgkin ◽  
V. Ramanatha Rao ◽  
Angélica Cibrian-Jaramillo ◽  
Samy Gaiji

AbstractPlant genetic resources are conserved so that they can be used to improve crop plant pro- duction and in other ways. However, it is often asserted that use of ex situ conserved germplasm is inadequate and that genetic diversity maintained in genebanks is underutilized. In part, this reflects an incomplete recognition of what constitutes use of plant genetic resources, and of the many different ways in which material from genebanks contributes to improved agricultural production. Based on recent information from surveys of distribution of germplasm from genebanks, and from surveys of users, we suggest that the evidence indicates that there is substantial use of ex situ conserved materials for a wide range of different uses. We suggest that barriers to use of ex situ conserved germplasm may often result from a lack in numbers of users, and from limitations in capacity to effectively utilize the genetic diversity present in genebanks to reduce genetic vulnerability and increase sustainability in modern production systems.


HortScience ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 511A-511
Author(s):  
Peter Bretting

Plants provide humans with food, fiber, feed, ornamentals, industrial products, medicine, shelter, and fuel. As vegetation, they maintain global environmental integrity and the carrying capacity for all life. From an anthropocentric perspective, plants serve as genetic resources (PGR) for sustaining the growing human population. Research on PGR can provide basic knowledge for crop improvement or environmental management that enables renewable, sustainable production of the preceding necessities. PGR also provide the raw material for increasing yield and end product's quality, while requiring fewer inputs (water, nutrients, agrichemicals, etc.). The staples of life—30 or so major grain, oilseed, fiber, and timber species—comprise the “thin green line” vital to human survival, either directly, or through trade and income generation. Many crop genebanks worldwide focus on conserving germplasm of these staples as a shield against genetic vulnerability that may endanger economies and humanity on an international scale. Fewer genebanks and crop improvement programs conserve and develop “minor crops,” so called because of their lesser economic value or restricted cultivation globally. Yet, these minor crops, many categorized as horticultural, may be key to human carrying capacity—especially in geographically or economically marginal zones. The USDA/ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) contains a great number and diversity of minor crop germplasm. The NPGS, other genebanks, and minor crop breeding programs scattered throughout the world, help safeguard human global carrying capacity by providing the raw genetic material and genetic improvement infrastructure requisite for producing superior minor crops. The latter may represent the best hope for developing new varieties and crops, new crop rotations, and new renewable products that in the future may enhance producer profitability or even ensure producer and consumer survival.


Author(s):  
Pratibha Brahmi ◽  
Vandana Tyagi

Genetic Resources (GR) refer to genetic material of actual or potential value. Use of GR refers to the process of researching their beneficial properties and using them to increase scientific knowledge and understanding, or to develop commercial products. There is continuous search for newer resources to meet the future demands that arise with the emergence of new diseases, abiotic stresses, climate change, and enhanced demand for food and nutritional security. GR are exchanged and searched continuously for specific traits to improve yields and nutritional value in crops and animal genetic resources. Every nation is concerned with acquisition of diverse and superior germplasm for conservation and utilization. The rapid advancements in the fields of molecular biology, biotechnology and bioinformatics, led to the emergence of new legal, political and technological regimes regulating access to GR. Three international negotiations impacted the access to GR, these are the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) as part of the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). The regulation regarding access to GR, increasing application of IPRs and the vast potential of biological wealth yet to be tapped through bio-prospecting and genetic engineering, has placed greater demands on nations to adjust to the changing scenario of GR management. Currently access to GR is under the provisions of CBD and access to GR is based on mutually agreed terms (MAT), subject to prior informed consent (PIC). In response to CBD, India enacted the Biological Diversity Act (BDA), 2002 and established the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) in 2003. Access to PGR from India is therefore regulated by BDA, 2002. The Nagoya Protocol which entered into force from October 2014 defines the international regime within the framework of CBD to promote and safeguard the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. The paper discusses these agreements in detail with reference to access and use of GR.


Author(s):  
Richard Bardgett

For much of history, soil has played a major, and often central, role in the lives of humans. Entire societies have risen, and collapsed, through the management or mismanagement of soil; farmers and gardeners worldwide nurture their soil to provide their plants with water, nutrients, and protection from pests and diseases; major battles have been aborted or stalled by the condition of soil; murder trials have been solved with evidence from the soil; and, for most of us, our ultimate fate is the soil. In this book Richard Bardgett discusses soil and the many, and sometimes surprising, ways that humanity has depended on it throughout history, and still does today. Analysing the role soil plays in our own lives, despite increasing urbanization, and in the biogeochemical cycles that allow the planet to function effectively, Bardgett considers how superior soil management could combat global issues such as climate change, food shortages, and the extinction of species. Looking to the future, Bardgett argues that it is vital for the future of humanity for governments worldwide to halt soil degradation, and to put in place policies for the future sustainable management of soils.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (S1) ◽  
pp. S6-S8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald L. Phillips

Genetic resources form the basis of the new era of global food security. The food crises in many developing countries, reflected by food riots correlated with food prices, have been termed the Silent Tsunami. Plant genetic resources are clearly essential to food security for the future. Fortunately, genetic resources are generally considered a public good and shared internationally. Wild relatives of crop species and their derivatives represent the reservoir of genetic diversity that will help to meet the food demands of nine billion people by 2050. New technologies from genomics bolster conventional plant breeding for enhancing traits to meet these food demands. Genetic diversity is the lifeblood of traditional and modern plant breeding. The dramatic increase in the number of biotech crops reveals the value of new genetic resources. Genetic resources will provide a gateway to a new era of global food security. Although 7.4 million plant accessions are stored in 1750 germplasm banks around the world, only a small portion of the accessions has been used so far to produce commercial varieties. Our challenge is to find better ways to make more efficient use of gene bank materials for meeting food demands in the future.


Author(s):  
Andhika Indra Perdana ◽  

The MTA provides for a contractual agreement between a provider and recipient of the material which content the rights and obligations of all parties, including third parties. In international law, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPRFA) provides mandate to Contracting Parties have to enact laws and adopt policies regarding the MTA for negotiation between the recipient and provider of access to genetic resources based on profit-sharing agreement. Regulation MTA in Indonesia is covered in the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture under Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture No. 15/Permentan/OT.140/3/2009 on Guidelines for Preparation of Material Transfer Agreement and Regulation of the Minister of Health No. 657/Menkes/Per/VIII/2009 on Delivery and Use of Clinical Specimens, Biological Materials and Content the information. This article aims to examine the provisions of MTA under international laws and Indonesian law, it will analyze to what extent MTA set out in Regulation of the Indonesian Minister of Agriculture No. 15/Permentan/OT.140/3/2009 and Indonesian Minister of Health No. 657/Menkes/Per/VIII/2009. Then this study will also give suggestion for additional terms due to any weaknesses of MTA regulations in Indonesia. MTA regulations provides many benefits for Indonesia as a state provider, especially in terms of the protection of intellectual property rights. Provider can cooperate to research and development on food, agriculture and health, with domestic or foreign researcher, providers gain benefit sharing on the sale or lisence of products produced from the contracted material. For local communities also gain profit from its commercialization of the collection or invention of material obtained in the region owned by local communities. Yet, the MTA regulations is considered can inhibit the development of research and invention, costly. MTA provision that allow the recipient to distribute the genetic material and its derivates to other parties raises possibility violation by the recipient and also will arise conflict on the third party. According to MTA regulations, the provider difficult to monitor and control the implementation of the agreement. Thus, It needs to be more detailed arrangements regarding intellectual property protection to limit the use of the transferred material, also need to be set separated on benefit sharing when both parties negotiate of MTA.


Author(s):  
Fiona Hay

Food security is dependent on the work of plant scientists and breeders who develop new varieties of crops that are high yielding, nutritious, and tolerate a range of biotic and abiotic stresses. These scientists and breeders need access to novel genetic material to evaluate and to use in their breeding programs; seed- (gene-)banks are the main source of novel genetic material. There are more than 1,750 genebanks around the world that are storing the orthodox (desiccation tolerant) seeds of crops and their wild relatives. These seeds are stored at low moisture content and low temperature to extend their longevity and ensure that seeds with high viability can be distributed to end-users. Thus, seed genebanks serve two purposes: the long-term conservation of plant genetic resources, and the distribution of seed samples. Globally, there are more than 7,400,000 accessions held in genebanks; an accession is a supposedly distinct, uniquely identifiable germplasm sample which represents a particular landrace, variety, breeding line, or population. Genebank staff manage their collections to ensure that suitable material is available and that the viability of the seeds remains high. Accessions are regenerated if viability declines or if stocks run low due to distribution. Many crops come under the auspices of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and germplasm is shared using the Standard Material Transfer Agreement. The Treaty collates information on the sharing of germplasm with a view to ensuring that farmers ultimately benefit from making their agrobiodiversity available. Ongoing research related to genebanks covers a range of disciplines, including botany, seed and plant physiology, genetics, geographic information science, and law.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (Issue 1) ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
E.L. Camadro ◽  
P. Rimieri

Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are ex situ conserved in germplasm banks as samples (accessions) of natural or naturalized populations, either as the originally sampled propagules (mainly seeds) or their multiplications. The premises underlying ex situ conservation are that (a) it is the safest and cheapest alternative for germplasm preservation for future generations and (b) accessions are representative of the genetic diversity encountered in nature. In the past decades, ideas, alternatives and considerations have been put forward on the topic, and protocols have been devised for plant germplasm sampling, conservation and multiplication. However, limitations in the management efficiency of germplasm banks have been pointed out by international organizations. In our opinion, germplasm banks in general need to revise their functioning and management at the light of principles and methods of Genetics. To that end, it is necessary to consider the reproductive biology of higher plants -whose genetic consequences at both the individual plant and the population levels are not always either fully understood or taken into account in devising the protocols-, the genetic structures of wild and cultivated populations, and the course of the genetic material in the populations. In this paper, we discuss the three topics and provide an example of a national forage breeding program, from germplasm bank accessions as the germplasm of origin to the obtainment of commercial cultivars. Finally, we present a proposal as a base for discussion among curators, researchers and breeders. Key words: accessions, breeding, genetic resources, germplasm banks, population genetics


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