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Title: Conservation and gene banking

Author
item Jenderek, Maria

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/4/2014
Publication Date: 5/30/2015
Citation: Jenderek, M.M. 2015. Conservation and gene banking. Meeting Abstract. pp. 51. Society for In Vitro Biology, Tucson, AZ. May 30 - June 6, 2015.

Interpretive Summary: Plant conservation has several objectives the main ones include safeguarding our food supply, preserving crop wild relatives for breeding and selection of new cultivars, providing material for industrial and pharmaceutical uses and preserving the beauty and diversity of our flora for generations to come. Applied conservation might be accomplished by storage of seeds, vegetative propagules, pollen or DNA extracts. For educational and comparative purposes some plant species are preserved as herbarium specimens. Preservation of clonal propagules can include field or greenhouse plantings, in vitro culture or storage in liquid nitrogen. Several countries (United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, China, India and Mexico) have established central genebanks for storing seeds or plant tissues in low or ultralow temperatures. A few years ago, a back-up genebank storing seeds from all over the world was established in permafrost of Svalbard, Norway. This session will discuss the latest research developments and progress in applied in vitro conservation, cryostorage and genebanking of plant genetic resources.

Technical Abstract: Plant conservation has several objectives the main ones include safeguarding our food supply, preserving crop wild relatives for breeding and selection of new cultivars, providing material for industrial and pharmaceutical uses and preserving the beauty and diversity of our flora for generations to come. Applied conservation might be accomplished by storage of seeds, vegetative propagules, pollen or DNA extracts. For educational and comparative purposes some plant species are preserved as herbarium specimens. Preservation of clonal propagules can include field or greenhouse plantings, in vitro culture or storage in liquid nitrogen. Several countries (United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, China, India and Mexico) have established central genebanks for storing seeds or plant tissues in low or ultralow temperatures. A few years ago, a back-up genebank storing seeds from all over the world was established in permafrost of Svalbard, Norway. This session will discuss the latest research developments and progress in applied in vitro conservation, cryostorage and genebanking of plant genetic resources.