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Management of genetic resource collections
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INRA, Odile Bernard
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Managing genetic resource collections includes assembling, preserving, characterising and making available the collections. These processes are increasingly regulated by national and international laws and are required to meet specific quality assurance standards.
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Preservation of resources
The genetic resources for grapevines, trees and shrubs are kept in collection orchards or in insect-proof greenhouses to protect them against insects, which are often vectors of disease. In the case of potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes, tubers are preserved in fields or in a cold room. For most species, however, resources are stored in seed form, either in cold rooms or freezers. Seeds have a limited life span, beyond which they lose their ability to germinate. Therefore, the seeds must be sown regularly – every 3 to 15 years, depending on the species – in order to renew the stock.
The main complication in managing these resources is health risks. For instance, the dissemination of genetic resources for the walnut tree was temporarily halted due to a new disease under evaluation. The introduction and dissemination of many tree species (citrus, Prunus and Malus) can be very challenging due to quarantine regulations. To limit health risks, INRA requires rigorous supervision of resource exchanges. In recent years, INRA has also invested considerably in 1) equipment such as insect-proof greenhouses which limit contamination risks for perennial species that expand by vegetative propagation and 2) regenerating infected accessions.
Collection characterisation and management
Several types of data are needed to characterise a sample. “Passport” data include geographical origin, latitude, longitude and climate characteristics of the location in which the sample was collected. Phenotypic data provide a description of the plant and its behaviour. Genetic data (collected using molecular markers) afford the remaining information for each sample.
These data are entered into local databases. INRA is currently working to put them online on a joint portal. It is developing an information system on plant genetic resources that will make these data widely accessible.
The charters for national genetic resource conservation networks set out sample maintenance and conservation protocols for each species. Research-related quality assurance procedures are increasingly developed by laboratories themselves for the fastest turnaround possible given requirements for certifying collections and establishing Biological Resource Centres (BRCs).
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Written by :
Communications Department
Label for the news :
Topic
Date for the news :
2011.03.08
Date of creation : 08/12/2006
Date of last update : 07/04/2008
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See also
