Breeding genetic resources

The access to genetic resources is of pivotal importance for breeding. Genetic resources are typically stored as ex situ collections. Usually breeders establish their own collections or provide access to adequate collections. Maintenance of ex situ collections is costly and the extent of collections is frequently limited by the limited recourses for collection management. 

Legumes Breeding Group, Plant Genetic Resources Department, Misidn Bioldgica de Galicia,... 

Jansky, S. H., Peloquin, S. J. (2006). Advantages of wild diploid Solanum species over cultivated diploid relatives in potato breeding programs. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 53, 669-674. 

Plant genetic resources or germplasm consist of the different genetic forms that one can find in domesticated species, i.e. traditional varieties, landraces, modern varieties, genetic stocks and breeding lines as well as genetic material that belongs to weedy forms as well as the wild relatives of the domesticated species. Since the first half of last century more systematic efforts have been made to... 

Engels, J.M.M. (2002) Genebank management as essential activity to link conservation and plant breeding.- Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 129, 17-24. 

Frese, L. (2002) Plant genetic resources - source of breeding progress.- Beitrage zur Zuchtungsforschung an Kulturpflanzen 8(1), 4-13. 

Plant genetic resource collections are vital to plant breeding efforts. In the early 1990s, one survey concluded that the Jerusalem artichoke gene pool available to plant breeding may not exceed 150 accessions (van Soest et al., 1993). However, even given duplications in different collections, this appears to be an underestimate. Many hundreds of accessions are today maintained in plant germplasm collections worldwide. These include wild and weedy accessions, landraces or traditional and obsolete cultivars, and advanced or improved cultivars. 

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