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Title: GRIN-Global: An International Project to Develop a Global Plant Genebank and Information Management System

Author
item Cyr, Pete
item WEAVER, BROCK - Bioversity International
item Millard, Mark
item Gardner, Candice
item Bohning, Mark
item Emberland, Gorm
item Sinnott, Quinn
item Kinard, Gary
item FRANCO, TITO - Bioversity International
item MACKAY, MICHAEL - Bioversity International
item GUARINO, LUIGI - Global Crop Diversity Trust
item Postman, Joseph
item Hummer, Kim
item Ayala-Silva, Tomas
item Bretting, Peter

Submitted to: Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/26/2009
Publication Date: 11/14/2009
Citation: Cyr, P.D., Weaver, B.E., Millard, M.J., Gardner, C.A., Bohning, M.A., Emberland, G.P., Sinnott, Q.P., Kinard, G.R., Franco, T., Mackay, M., Guarino, L., Postman, J.D., Hummer, K.E., Ayala Silva, T., Bretting, P.K. 2009. GRIN-Global: An International Project to Develop a Global Plant Genebank and Information Management System [abstract]. 21st Annual AAIC Meeting-The Next Generation of Industrial Crops, Processes, and Products. p. 46.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Many of the world's national genebanks, responsible for the safeguarding and availability of their country's Plant Genetic Resource (PGR) collections, have lacked access to high quality IT needed to document and manage their collections electronically. The Germplasm Resource Information System (GRIN), developed by the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System, is widely recognized as a superior genebank management system, largely because it has been continuously developed and enhanced during the past 22 years. As system complexity has grown, so has the importance of its information content and delivery systems to researchers and genebank personnel. International genebanks interested in adopting GRIN have been challenged by technology licensing fees and GRIN’s complexity. The Global Crop Diversity Trust recognized the common needs of the word's genebanks and the resources being expended by many genebanks or consortia independently and initiated the GRIN-Global (G-G) Project. The mission of the GRIN-Global Project is to create a new, scalable version of GRIN to provide the world's crop genebanks with a powerful, flexible, easy-to-use PGR information management system. The system will help safeguard PGR and information vital to global food security, and encourage PGR use. Developed jointly by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bioversity International and the Global Crop Diversity Trust, G-G will be deployed in selected plant genebanks worldwide in 2010. The .NET Framework and Visual Studio development environment were chosen for the project. A core set of web services, enterprise services or other technologies will update data stored locally or on networks, distribute centralized data to off-site systems, and enable third party data sharing. The database and interfaces will accommodate commercial and open-source programming tools, be database-flexible, and require no licensing fees. The database will be deployable on stand-alone computers or networked systems.