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Genebanking Strategies (Plant Focus) |
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The research team at NCGRP is called the Plant Germplasm Preservation Research (PGPR) group. PGPR is an integral part of the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) infrastructure. PGPR’s role is to support collections activities by developing strategies and technologies that
improve the efficiency of ex situ genebanks and
expand the potential uses of genebanked samples
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Genebanking is really an investment for the future. The investment will pay off if we can anticipate the needs of tomorrow’s ever-expanding genebank users and develop genebank strategies that satisfy those needs in an economical way. Successful genebanking requires linking a physical sample with accurate information about it, and then making sure that the stored sample retains the same properties as the material from which it originated.
Five strategies pursued within the PGPR group aimed at improved genebanking include:
- Maintaining biological integrity
- Sampling representatively to accommodate current and anticipated uses and multiple conservation targets
- Providing annotation that authenticates, calibrates and characterizes samples
- Integrating information systems
- Providing germplasm with validated phenotypic and genetic descriptions
Genebanked samples are used for a variety of reasons by diverse customers
• Genetic “improvement” • Conservation of biodiversity • Mechanistic studies of adaptation • Systematics and taxonomy • Environmental monitoring • Epidemiology • Forensics • New questions in new disciplines |
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PGPR also has provided many innovations that have been implemented to improve genebanking worldwide.
Some current projects are described below.
The PGPR team is charged with trouble-shooting key NPGS operations to ensure cost-effective procedures today and relevance and impact of NPGS collections in the future:
1) Maintaining biological integrity
This requires that the physical structure and chemical composition of the stored material remains unchanged through time so that future researchers can test for the presence of compounds or evaluate the appearance of plant cells and organs. Preserving biological integrity usually requires cooling, drying or applying chemical fixatives to samples – all of which can be lethal. |
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2) Sampling representatively to accommodate current and anticipated uses and multiple conservation targets
Conservation targets for a genebank include particular genes, genotypes or gene frequencies. Genetic diversity embodied by these different conservation targets should be available to future users without oversampling and unnecessary duplication. |
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3) Providing annotation that authenticates, calibrates and characterizes samples Genebank users need information about where, how and when a sample was collected in order to understand why the sample is the way it is. The information must be standard to avoid misinterpretations and must have a traceable history to ensure accountability.
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4) Integrating information systems
Databases that describe holdings of repositories from all parts of the world must be interoperable to ensure that users have access to the full breadth of available material and information. |
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5) Providing germplasm with validated phenotypic and genetic descriptions
Germplasm repositories differ from other genebanks or repositories in that they provide living samples that can be grown out and used further. Providing living samples introduces the risk of change through mortality during the genebanking process or through drift or selection when material is regenerated.
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- evaluation of containers to ensure sample performance in a variety of storage treatments
- new ways to evaluate genetic diversity within collections
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- development of database structures that allow molecular genetic data to be entered and retrieved from NPGS’s database system, GRIN (Genetic Resources Information Network).
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Current research projects build on past accomplishments with additional focus on
Gas Chromatography of head space volatiles. |
Differential scanning calorimetry. |
Temperature-controlled Dynamic mechanical analysis.
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discovering the basis of genetic bottlenecks and change in genetic composition of genebanked samples
For further information about NCGRP research contact PGPR principal investigators:
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Last Modified: 12/11/2008
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