Welcome to the homepage of the Plant and Animal Genetic Resource Preservation Research Unit (PAGRPRU) at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation. Our Unit addresses plant and animal genetic security via the Plant Genetic Resources Preservation Program and the National Animal Germplasm Program.  A relatively new program addition to our Unit is the back-up of Microbial Collections.

Our overarching mission is to provide secure long-term preservation, and documentation of diverse genetic resources for U.S. food and agriculture.  We accomplish this through a wide range of industry, university, and ARS collaborators all working toward the development of robust plant and animal genetic security.  Globally, we back-up plant and animal collections for other nations and participate in the development of globally accepted policies and protocols for genetic resource management and utilization.

Our collections not only safeguard commercially important crops, crop wild relatives, and livestock but also rare and endangered varieties and breeds. These collections serve as a basis for future development of improved crops and livestock.  We develop storage protocols of both plant and animal germplasm and tissues. Molecular and computational approaches are developed to assess genetic variability of these collections to insure genetic security is achieved. Our unit is positioned to quickly and efficiently initiate collection development into new life forms, such as microbes, and other tissue types. Our mission in germplasm preservation, characterization, and utilization contributes to the nation’s current and future food security. Furthermore, such collections are and will continue to play an important role in insuring that the U.S. remains a world leader in producing improved plant and animal genetic resources.