Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T02:36:26.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The use of ex situ conserved plant genetic resources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2007

Toby Hodgkin*
Affiliation:
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Via dei Tre Denari, 472/a, 00057 Maccarese (Fiumicino), Rome, Italy
V. Ramanatha Rao
Affiliation:
IPGRI, Asia, Pacific and Oceania Office, P.O. Box 236, UPM Post Office, Serdang, 43400 Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Angélica Cibrian-Jaramillo
Affiliation:
Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10025, USA
Samy Gaiji
Affiliation:
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Via dei Tre Denari, 472/a, 00057 Maccarese (Fiumicino), Rome, Italy
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Plant 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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © NIAB 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Belkhodja, R, Morales, F, Abadia, A, Gomez-Aparisi, J and Abadia, J (1994) Chlorophyll fluorescence as a possible tool for salinity tolerance screening in barley. Plant Physiology 104: 667673.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowman, DT, May, OL and Calhoun, DS (1996) Genetic base of upland cotton cultivars released between 1970 and 1990. Crop Science 36: 577581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, TT (1989) The case for large collections. In: Brown, AHD Frankel, OH Marshall, DR and Williams, JT (editors) The Use of Plant Genetic Resources. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 123135.Google Scholar
CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), (1997) World Wheat Facts and Trends 1995/96: Understanding Global Trends in the Use of Wheat Diversity and International Flows of WheatGenetic Resources. Mexico: CIMMYT.Google Scholar
Dudnik, NS, Thormann, I and Hodgkin, T (2001) The extent of use of plant genetic resources in research—a literature survey. Crop Science 41: 610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engels, JMM (2002) Genebank management: an essential activity to link conservation and plant breeding. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 129: 1722.Google Scholar
Evenson, RE, Gollin, D and Santaniello, V (editors) (1998) Agricultural Values of Plant Genetic Resources. Wallingford: CABI Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) (1998) The State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Fowler, C, Smale, M and Gaiji, S (2001) Unequal exchange? Recent transfers of agricultural resources and their implications for developing countries. Development Policy Review 19: 181204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frankel, OH and Brown, AHD (1984) Current plant genetic resources—a critical appraisal. Genetics: New Frontiers, Vol. IV. New Delhi and Oxford: IBH Publishing Co., pp. 111.Google Scholar
Gao, Weidong, Jiahe, Fang, Diansheng, Zheng, Yu, Li, Xinxiong, Lu, Rao, RV, Hodgkin, T and Zhang, Zongwen (2000) Utilization of germplasm conserved in Chinese national genebanks—a survey. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 123: 18.Google Scholar
Gizlice, Z, Carter, TE, Gerig, TM and Burton, JW (1996) Genetic diversity patterns in North American public soybean cultivars based on coefficient of parentage. Crop Science 36: 753765.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkes, JG, Maxted, N and Ford, Lloyd BV (2000) The ex situ Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holbrook, CC and Anderson, WF (1995) Evaluation of a core collection to identify resistance to late leafspot in peanut. Crop Science 35: 17001702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holden, JHW (1984) The second ten years. In: Holden, JHW and Williams, JT (editors) Crop Genetic Resources: Conservation & Evaluation. London: George Allen & Unwin, pp. 277285.Google Scholar
IPGRI, AVRDC and CATIE (1995) Descriptors for Capsicum (Capsicum spp.). Rome: IPGRI; Taipei: AVRDC; Turrialba, Costa Rica: CATIE, 49 pp.Google Scholar
Iwanaga, M (1993) Enhancing the links between germplasm conservation and use in a changing world. International Crop Science 1: 407413.Google Scholar
Karp, A (2002) The new genetic era: will it help us in managing genetic diversity? In: Engels, JMM, Ramanatha, Rao V, Brown, AHD and Jackson, MT (editors) Managing Plant Genetic Diversity. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, pp. 4356.Google Scholar
Kannenberg, LW and Falk, DE (1995) Models for activation of plant genetic resources for crop breeding programmes. Canadian Journal of Plant Sciences 75: 4553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight, J (2003) A dying breed. Nature 421: 568570.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kresovich, S, Luongo, AJ and Schloss, SJ (2002) ‘Mining the gold’: finding allelic variants for improved crop conservation and use. In: Engels, JMM, Ramanatha, Rao V, Brown, AHD and Jackson, MT (editors) Managing Plant Genetic Diversity. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, pp. 379386.Google Scholar
Jackson, MT, Pham, JL, Newbury, HJ, Ford-Lloyd, BV and Virk, PS (1999) A core collection for rice—needs, opportunities and constraints. In: Johnson, RC and Hodgkin, T (editors) Core Collections for Today and Tomorrow. Rome: IPGRI, pp. 1827.Google Scholar
Jarvis, D, Sthapit, B and Sears, L (editors) (2000) Conserving Agricultural Biodiversity in situ: A Scientific Basis for Sustainable Agriculture. Rome: IPGRI.Google Scholar
Marshall, DR (1989) Limitations to the use of germplasm collections. In: Brown, AHD, Frankel, OH, Marshall, DR and Williams, JT (editors) The Use of Plant Genetic Resources. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 105122.Google Scholar
McFerson, JR, Lamboy, WF and Kresovich, S (1996) Assessing user perceptions of genetic resource collections in crucifer crops. Crop Science 36: 831838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Research Council (1972) Genetic Vulnerability of Major Crops. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.Google Scholar
Peeters, JP and Galwey, NW (1988) Germplasm collections and breeding needs in Europe. Economic Botany 42: 503521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peeters, JP and Williams, JT (1984) Towards better use of gene-banks with special reference to information. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 60: 2231.Google Scholar
Pollack, LM and Salhuana, W (2001) The germplasm enhancement of maize (GEM) project: private and public sector collaboration. In: Cooper, HD, Spillane, C and Hodgkin, T (editors) Broadening the Genetic Base of Crop Production. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, pp. 319330.Google Scholar
Richards, P and Ruivenkamp, G (1997) Seeds and Survival: Crop Genetic Resources in War and Reconstruction in Africa. Rome: IPGRI, 63 pp.Google Scholar
Simmonds, NW (1962) Variability in crop plants: its use and conservation. Biological Reviews 37: 422465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmonds, NW (1993) Introgression and incorporation: strategies for use of crop genetic resources. Biological Reviews 68: 539562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smale, M and Day-Rubenstein, K (2002) The demand for crop genetic resources: international use of the US national plant germplasm system. World Development 30: 16391655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tallury, SP and Goodman, MM (2001) The state of the use of maize genetic diversity in the USA and sub-Saharan Africa. In: Cooper, HD, Spillane, C and Hodgkin, T (editors) Broadening the Genetic Base of Crop Production. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, pp. 159180.Google Scholar
ten Kate, K and Laird, SA (1999) The Commercial Use of Biodiversity. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Tripp, R and Byerlee, D (2000) Public Plant Breeding in an Era of Privatisation. ODI Natural Resources Perspectives 57. London: ODI, 7 pp.Google Scholar
van Soest, L (2001) Verslag van een enquete onder de Nederlandse gebruikers van het CGN Nota 92. Wageningen: Plant Research International, 22 + 7 pp.Google Scholar
Velasco, L and Mollers, C (1998) Nondestructive assessment of sinapic acid esters in Brassica species: II Evaluation of germplasm and identification of phenotypes with reduced levels. Crop Science 38: 16501654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, J and Eyzaguirre, PB (2002) Home Gardens and in situ Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources in Farming Systems. Rome: IPGRI.Google Scholar
Whitten, MJ and Settle, WH (1998) The role of the small-scale farmer in preserving the link between biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. In: Chou, CH (editor) Frontiers in Biology: Biotechnology, Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture. Proceedings of the 25th AGM International Union of Biological SciencesTaiwan Province 17–23 November, 1997.Google Scholar
Widrlechner, MP, Guarino, L and Gardner, CAC. Assessing usage and limitations for four plant genetic resources collections (in preparation).Google Scholar