Location: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Support, plan, and/or conduct, in alignment with the overall NPGS Plan, international and domestic explorations and exchanges to acquire plant genetic resources, especially of crop wild relatives and landraces of major, specialty and new crops, to fill gaps in the holdings of key NPGS plant genetic resource collections.
Objective 2. Expand the NPGS program of complementary conservation (ex situ and in situ) of crop wild relatives in the United States, in alignment with the overall NPGS Plan, through collaborations with federal, state, and private agencies.
Objective 3. Maintain GRIN Taxonomy for Plants and, in alignment with the overall NPGS Plan, expand the nomenclatural, classificatory, and geographical information available for crop wild relatives.
Objective 4. Manage the import and export of germplasm involved in international germplasm exchanges.
Objective 5. Serve as coordinator and secretariat for the 44 CGCs that provide technical input for NPGS plant genetic resource management plans and priorities.
Approach
Support the acquisition of plant genetic resources for the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), focusing on plants that fill gaps in accessions. Manage the Plant Exploration and Exchange program by updating and distributing proposal guidelines, conducting review of proposals, coordinating funding, maintaining records of explorations, verifying that accessions are submitted to the NPGS, and ensuring that accessions and associated data are documented properly in GRIN-Global. Guide scientists on proposal preparation, obtaining permissions for collecting, trip planning, documentation of collections, collecting protocols, recommended equipment, and other matters. For foreign explorations, locate national authorities for access to genetic resources per the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Identify appropriate benefit sharing for foreign explorations in cooperation with U.S.-based explorers, NPGS curators, collaborating foreign scientists, and national authorities on access in the host country. Expand the complementary conservation of crop wild relatives (CWR) in the United States. Identify areas in the U.S. that support significant populations of CWR. Expand collaboration to new partners, increase the numbers of CWR conserved, and provide improved access to information about CWR. Work with land managing agencies to select and designate natural areas as resource reserves for CWR. Develop an integrated conservation strategy for species of grapes (Vitis spp.) native to the United States that are important CWR of the cultivated wine grape (Vitis vinifera). Maintain and expand GRIN Taxonomy for Plants. Research changes to existing taxonomic classifications or nomenclature for possible adoption. Document all data with references in GRIN-Global. Promote the use of GRIN Taxonomy among genetic resources managers and customers by enhancing the internet search pages, encouraging user feedback, and maintaining the integrity of the scientific nomenclature. Update current and develop new crop wild relative classifications for crops based on thorough review of all pertinent taxonomic and phylogenetic literature, as well as similar review of the plant genetic, breeding, and other crop science literature. Assist scientists in complying with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulations for importing germplasm. Support the import and export of germplasm by facilitating agricultural inspections and issuances of phytosanitary certificates for NPGS genebanks. Guide NPGS curators and other staff about APHIS regulations for shipping germplasm. Serve as an interface between APHIS and the NPGS genebanks for incoming and outgoing shipments of germplasm. Coordinate and document activities for the 44 Crop Germplasm Committees (CGCs) that provide technical input for NPGS plant genetic resource management plans and priorities. Plan the annual meetings of the CGC Chairs and maintain documentation of the CGCs’ rosters, crop vulnerability statements, and other activities. Act as a liaison between CGCs and ARS leadership on issues related to plant genetic resources.
Progress Report
This report documents progress for project 8042-21000-302-000D from October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2024, including estimates of activities completed in the final quarter of the fiscal year. Progress has been made on all five Objectives. Under Objective 1, the Plant Exploration and Exchange Office supported ongoing explorations through management of agreements and documentation of germplasm accessioned by the National Plant Germplasm System. The program also reviewed and approved new exploration proposals. Objective 2 focuses on developing collaborations to implement complementary conservation of crop wild relatives. Progress included hosting a stakeholder visit from the Missouri Botanical Garden, participating in an advisory committee for a Crop Wild Relative conference, and producing updated conservation data for native Vitis spp. Progress under Objective 3, which involves the maintenance and expansion of GRIN Taxonomy data, included adding more than 11,094 distribution, 3,743 literature, 254 common name, and 213 economic use records. More than 2,617 new taxon records were added and more than 1,902 were verified. More than 10,463 existing records in the taxonomy tables were also modified. Crop wild relative work in GRIN Taxonomy focused on updating and reevaluating genepool and trait data for existing crops to reflect recent research, and 15 new crops were added along with 83 relatives assigned to genepools. The new online Taxonomy Editor interface is in use for changes to the production database, with more efficient data entry methods and batch editing capabilities for certain taxonomy tables. For Objective 4, the export of germplasm was facilitated by ensuring that agricultural inspections were completed, and phytosanitary certificates were issued within accepted timeframes. From October 2023 through June 2024, 327 public orders containing a total of 20,994 samples of NPGS accessions were shipped from Beltsville to individuals in 51 countries for research and education. Under Objective 5, we supported Crop Germplasm Committees (CGCs) by attending and reporting to CGC meetings and updating information on their committees in GRIN. Discussions are underway about forming a new CGC to support the hemp collection.
Accomplishments
1. Exploration to New Mexico for Phaseolus germplasm. Species of beans (Phaseolus) native to North America contain many desirable traits for adapting global bean production to hotter and drier conditions. However, the National Plant Germplasm System (NGPS) has limited accessions of Phaseolus available for distribution to scientists and breeders. USDA-ARS scientists from Beltsville, Maryland, and the NPGS Phaseolus curator collaborated with New Mexico State University and International Center for Tropical Agriculture to support a Phaseolus collecting trip in New Mexico. The exploration located 14 total populations of 4 different Phaseolus species. This plant material is being evaluated for potential permanent curation in the NGPS where it would be freely available to improve Phaseolus crop production and protection globally.