Abstract
Genebanks were created by the middle of the twentieth century to preserve cultivated biodiversity when landraces began to be substituted by modern varieties. This move was generally accepted as a necessary step to safeguard the future. After about 75 years of collecting and maintaining genetic resources, the increasing ability of biotechnology to create new variability brings the roles of genebanks in the present and near future into question. As a continuation of several workshops that started in 2014, staff of some representative genebanks have met to discuss how the Spanish Plant Genetic Resources Network can be improved, identifying the following major shortcomings: lack of efficient coordination in the distribution of species among genebanks; too many genebanks; existence of detected and undetected duplicates; insufficient rate of regeneration; insufficient phenotyping, genotyping, and epiphenotyping; unsatisfactory rate of use by end users; and, insufficient funding. As a considerable increase in public funding is unlikely, we propose some strategies to increase the efficiency of the system. The most urgent tasks are to strengthen the rationalization of the network by establishing a clear hierarchy and functions, to improve the information in the base collection by deep characterization including not only phenotypes but also uses and utilities, to progressively replace the active collections with focused core collections constructed to meet users' needs, to optimize regeneration protocols, to limit new collecting expeditions of Spanish crop wild relatives to those growing in threatened habitats, and to develop user-friendly platforms to access germplasm documentation, including a unified system of descriptors and classification categories. Current advances in biotechnology, and especially those in gene editing will have without doubt an impact on the role of genebanks. However, the high number of genes and gene combinations created by evolution they hold cannot be produced by these techniques at present. So, these reservoirs of variability will continue to be indispensable for the near-medium future while the function of all the genes is unveiled. In turn, biotechnologies and gene editing will allow us to take advantage of the information held in genebanks in a more efficient and fast way, contributing to a better rationalization and functioning.
Highlights
The ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources started by the mid-twentieth century as a reaction to the rapid loss of agricultural biodiversity, mainly due to the replacement of landraces by improved varieties (Gepts, 2006; Van de Wouw et al, 2009; Khoury et al, 2014)
They were intended to preserve genetic material with the aim that they might be used in the future (Fowler and Hodgkin, 2004), either directly or as material in breeding programs (Tanksley and McCouch, 1997) to face potential changes in environmental conditions or societal needs, even before discussions about climate change started
Suggested Actions We propose to introduce protocols and scoring systems to prioritize ex situ conservation of the species cultivated in Spain and their wild relatives, especially if they are endemic or found in threatened habitats
Summary
The ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources started by the mid-twentieth century as a reaction to the rapid loss of agricultural biodiversity, mainly due to the replacement of landraces by improved varieties (Gepts, 2006; Van de Wouw et al, 2009; Khoury et al, 2014). The materials in these banks represent about 85% of the 62,470 accessions stored in the seed genebanks included in the National Network (without considering the base collection of the CRF).
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