2007 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) Conduct research on germplasm conservation and evaluation relevant to the mission of the National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Davis, CA. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Research pertinent to Repository operations will be conducted: . 1)Methodology for the conservation of genetic resources of special interest to the NCGR, Davis. . 2)Development of morphological, biochemical, and molecular markers for use in identification, monitoring, and characterizing NCGR, Davis, collections. . 3)Development of specific methods to establish and maintain disease-free stocks in the NCGR, Davis. . 4)Regeneration of clonal materials for distribution to users. . 5)Identification, screening, and collection of new materials important or useful to the NCGR, Davis collections. . 6)Other research areas that are important to the mission of the NCGR,Davis. Documents SCA with UC-Davis. 3.Progress Report This report documents research conducted under a specific agreement (5306-21000-015-09S) between ARS and the University of California Genetic Resources Conservation Program. The project was new in FY2005. GRCP's role is to solicit research proposals from UC Davis researchers on topics selected in consultation with the ADODR in support of the Repository. Four projects were underway in the past year (June 1, 2006 through May 31, 2007):. 1)Oil Content Assessment of NCGR Olive Accessions Through NMR, $10,000, PI M. McCarthy, Dept. of Food Science & Technology, UCD;. 2)Quarantine-Related Virus Indexing of Turkmenistan Grapes, $10,000, PI D. Golino, Foundation Plant Services, UCD;. 3)Genetic Conservation and Molecular Marker Development for Almond at NCGR, $9,500, PI T. Gradziel, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UCD; and. 4)Development and Utilization of Microsatellites (SSRs) for Evaluation of Diversity and Identity within NCGR Pistachio Collections, $10,000, PI D. Parfitt, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UCD. Awards were for one year. For projects. 1)and 2), we anticipate renewal for a second year. Progress reported by project: 1) NMR protocol for oil-content assessment was successfully adapted for olives and about one-third of the 133-accession NCGR-Davis collection was sampled and characterized. 2) Approximately one-third of the 58 accession Turkmenistan grape collection are undergoing bio-indexing for virus titer and should be cleared for introduction next year. 3) Difficult-to-propagate almond accessions were successfully propagated and transferred to the Repository. Transfer of heritage accessions suffered a setback when seedlings were lost during propagation, but the original trees remain and re-propagation is underway. EndoPG markers proved useful to distinguish almond parentage from peach. 4) The supported visit by Turkish pistachio researcher, S. Kafkas, took place as planned and a successful proposal for USDA support for a 2008 plant exploration trip to Turkey was generated. About half of the targeted number of clones for generating SSR markers were sequenced, but the resulting repeat lengths were shorter than expected. A new set of clones is being generated with the goal of generating longer sequences. Ed Stover, Curator and Research Leader for the Davis-NCGR, is the ADODR for this project.. He has monitored progress and directed efforts through frequent discussions via direct meetings, email, and phone.