Seed conservation actions for the preservation of plant diversity: the case of the Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR)

Abstract

The Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR) is a facility of the Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus (HBK), which belongs to the University of Cagliari (Italy). Its main objective is the conservation, study and management of the germplasm of Sardinian endemic, threatened and policy species (i.e., species inserted in the Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC, CITES and Bern convention), taxa from insular territories of the Mediterranean region, as well as Crop Wild Relatives (CWR), landraces, useful plants and plant remains. A summary of the procedures implemented by BG-SAR for the ex situ conservation, some international scientific results achieved, and some research projects at regional, national and international level in which the bank is involved, are reported in this work, with the main aim to highlight how a germplasm bank can be considered an important tool for the preservation of plant biodiversity. This paper allows to make a reflection about the importance of the germplasm banks, as well as their staff members, who constantly and daily work in order to preserve and conserve the planet’s biodiversity.

Full text

Plant Sociology, Vol. 54, No. 2, Suppl. 1, December 2017, pp. 111-117
DOI 10.7338/pls2017542S1/11
Seed conservation actions for the preservation of plant diversity: the case of the
Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR )
M. Porceddu1,2, A. Santo1,2, M. Orrù1,2, F. Meloni1,2, M. Ucchesu1,2, R. Picciau1,2, M. Sarigu1,2, A. Cuena Lom-
braña1,2, L. Podda1,2, S. Sau1,2, M.C. Fogu3, G. Bacchetta1,2
1Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR), Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus (HBK), University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio
da Laconi, 9-11, Cagliari 09123, Italy.
2Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity (CCB), Life and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Ca-
gliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi 11-13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy.
3Botany Section, Life and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi, 11-
13, Cagliari 09123, Italy.
Abstract
The Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR) is a facility of the Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus (HBK), which belongs to the University of Cagliari
(Italy). Its main objective is the conservation, study and management of the germplasm of Sardinian endemic, threatened and policy species (i.e.,
species inserted in the Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC, CITES and Bern convention), taxa from insular territories of the Mediterranean region, as well
as Crop Wild Relatives (CWR), landraces, useful plants and plant remains. A summary of the procedures implemented by BG-SAR for the ex situ
conservation, some international scientic results achieved, and some research projects at regional, national and international level in which the bank
is involved, are reported in this work, with the main aim to highlight how a germplasm bank can be considered an important tool for the preserva-
tion of plant biodiversity. This paper allows to make a reection about the importance of the germplasm banks, as well as their staff members, who
constantly and daily work in order to preserve and conserve the planet’s biodiversity.
Key words: archaeobotany, endangered species, ex situ conservation, invasive species, research activity, seed germination.
Introduction
The Mediterranean Basin, with ca. 11,700 endemic
plant species, has been recognized as the second larg-
est hotspot of the 36 hotspots in the world and the larg-
est of the world’s ve Mediterranean-climate regions
(CEPF, 2016). Mediterranean islands and islets are
singular for their species richness and high endemicity
rates. Among them, Sardinia (and its ca. 300 circum-
Sardinian islets, including four archipelagos; Fenu et
al., 2014), situated in the western Mediterranean Basin
and covering 24,090 km2, is the second largest island
in the Mediterranean Sea, and it could be classied as
a meso-hotspot within the Tyrrhenian macro-hotspot
and the Mediterranean mega-hotspot of biodiversity
(Cañadas et al., 2014). The particular geological and
human history of Sardinia has been a determining
factor in the development of its oristic peculiarities
(Fenu et al., 2014).
The Sardinian ora consists of 2,494 taxa (Conti et
al., 2007), and 290 of them are considered as Sardinian
endemic (e.g., narrow endemics, Sardinian endemics,
Corso-Sardinian endemics, Corso-Sardinian-Balearic
endemics; Bacchetta et al., 2012; Fenu et al., 2014),
and 183 as exclusive Sardinian plant species; moreo-
ver, Sardinia is a priority region for the biology conser-
vation due to its high number of endemic plant species
(Bacchetta et al., 2012; Fenu et al., 2015), and most of
them facing several threatening factors, e.g. land-use
and land-cover change, habitat fragmentation, climate
warming and introduction of alien species.
In this context, from 1997, the research center named
Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR) plays a central
role in the conservation of Sardinian plant diversity
and in the protection of the most sensitive ecosystems
of the island. Since 2015, BG-SAR is a facility of the
Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus (HBK), which belongs
to the University of Cagliari. The Bank preserves,
studies and manages the germplasm of Sardinian en-
demic, threatened and policy species inserted in the
Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC, CITES and Bern con-
vention, taxa from insular territories of the Mediter-
ranean region, as well as Crop Wild Relatives (CWR),
landraces, useful plants and archaeological plant re-
mains (Porceddu et al., 2015; Ucchesu et al., 2016a).
The main research activities of BG-SAR mainly
concern the ex situ conservation, seed germination
ecology and seedling development studies, archaeo-
botany and studies on the potential invasiveness of
the “Invasive Alien Species” (IAS), mainly dangerous
in Sardinian coastal habitats. The staff and research-
ers belonging to BG-SAR are constantly involved
Corresponding author: Francesca Meloni. Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity (CCB), Life and Environmental
Sciences Department, University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi 11-13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy; e-mail: meloni.
francesca72@gmail.com

112
in several initiatives with the aim to promote local
awareness, involving schools at all levels, to spread
the results at local, national and international levels.
In addition, BG-SAR offers free learning courses and/
or practical activities in the eld of plant biodiversity
characterization, management and conservation (e.g.,
HEI-PLADI Erasmus+ project; https://dibt.unimol.it/
HEI-PLADI/elearning/), as well as practical training
for ex situ conservation techniques (IPAMed project
by CARE-MEDIFLORA; http://www.medplantsnet-
work.net/training-for-ex-situ-conservation-by-care-
mediflora-partners-in-collaboration-with-iucn-med-
in-progress/).
The research center participates in international seed
conservation consortia, such as the European Native
Seed Conservation Network (ENSCONET), the Net-
work of Mediterranean plant conservation centres
(GENMEDA) and, at national level, it is a founding
member of the Italian Network of Germplasm Banks
for the Ex situ Conservation of Native Flora (RIBES).
A summary of the procedures implemented by BG-
SAR for the ex situ conservation, some international
scientic results achieved during the last years, and
some research projects at regional, national and inter-
national level, are reported in this work, with the main
aim to highlight how a germplasm bank can be con-
sidered an important tool for the preservation of plant
biodiversity.
Seed conservation and preservation at BG-SAR
The seed conservation processes carried out at BG-
SAR follow internationally recognized protocols and
guidelines for the gene bank standards (Bacchetta et
al. 2006, 2008a). All information are recorded and
managed in IrisBG (Botanical Software Ltd © 2016),
a suitably designed database to manage botanical and
seed bank collections.
The collected germplasm is subject to a quarantine
and post-maturation period, and only afterwards, the
seeds are introduced in the bank. Subsequently, each
accession is cleaned, quantied, selected and pro-
cessed. The seed lots are gradually dried at 15°C and
15% of relative humidity (RH), in order to reach ca.
3-5% of internal seed moisture content, and stored at
-25°C (as base collections under long-term conser-
vation) and/or at +5°C (as active collections under
medium-term conservation). Actually, BG-SAR pre-
serves approximately 2,800 seed lots, many of which
endemics of Sardinia. In particular, the bank preserves
the germplasm referable to 47% of policy species and
to 41% of exclusive Sardinian endemics (Fenu et al.,
2015). It is important to highlight that the bank pre-
serves most of the taxa included in the Annexes of the
Habitats Directive [e.g., Astragalus maritimus Moris,
A. verrucosus Moris, Brassica insularis Moris, Gen-
M. Porceddu et al.
tiana lutea L. subsp. lutea, Helianthemum caput-felis
Boiss., Lamyropsis microcephala (Moris) Dittrich &
Greuter, Linum muelleri Moris, Ribes sardoum Mar-
telli, Rouya polygama (Desf.) Coincy and Silene velu-
tina Pourr. ex Loisel.], species considered, sensu Bac-
chetta et al. (2012), the ten most threatened exclusive
endemic species of Sardinia (Anchusa littorea Moris,
Aquilegia barbaricina Arrigoni & E.Nardi, Aquilegia
nuragica Arrigoni & E.Nardi, A. maritimus, A. ver-
rucosus, Centranthus amazonum Fridl. & A.Raynal,
Dianthus morisianus Vals., L. microcephala, Polygala
sinisica Arrigoni and R. sardoum), and several Sar-
dinian taxa listed in the Italian national and regional
red lists resulting threatened according to the criteria
of the IUCN (Conti et al., 1992, 1997; Rossi et al.,
2013) or inserted in attention list as the IUCN Top50
species of the Mediterranean islands (Montmollin de
et Strahm, 2005; Pasta et al., 2017). In addition, BG-
SAR preserves several accessions referable to Crop
Wild Relatives (Ucchesu et al., 2016a).
Seed germination ecology studies
Studies on the germination ecophysiology are con-
stantly carried out to increase the biology knowledge
and dene the optimum germination protocol for each
of the preserved taxa. For example, specic studies on
seed germination ecology of the Sardinian endemic
Ribes multiorum Kit. ex Roem. & Shult. subsp. san-
dalioticum Arrigoni (Mattana et al., 2012) and R. sar-
doum (Porceddu et al., 2017), the only two members
of Ribes genus present in Sardinia, were carried out,
demonstrating that these taxa needed (after dormancy
release) low temperatures for seed germination, high-
lighting an increasing risk from global warming for
both taxa. Recently, it was demonstrated that seeds of
Paeonia corsica Sieber ex Tausch exhibited differen-
tial temperature sensitivity for the different sequential
steps in the removal of dormancy and germination pro-
cesses, that resulted in the precise and optimal timing
of seedling emergence (Porceddu et al., 2016). More
recently, Cuena Lombraña et al. (2016, 2017), in their
studies on Gentiana lutea L. subsp. lutea, underscored
the importance of studying the germination behaviour
in the eld and identied the type of seed dormancy in
order to dene the real thermal requirements of a spe-
cies with high conservation value. In addition, stud-
ies on thermal time, niche modeling and the effect of
global warming on the seed germination of Mediterra-
nean species were carried out (e.g., Orrù et al., 2012a;
Porceddu et al., 2013; Picciau, 2016).
Moreover, germination tests for some endemic and
endangered taxa [e.g., Phleum sardoum (Hackel)
Hackel, Rouya polygama (Desf.) Coincy, B. insularis,
Lavatera triloba L. subsp. triloba, L. triloba subsp.
pallescens (Moris) Nyman (Santo et al., 2014a,b,

113
The Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR)
2015a,b)], and IAS species [Acacia saligna (Labill.)
Wendl., Carpobrotus edulis (L.) N.E.Br., Lycium fe-
rocissimum Miers (Meloni et al., 2015; Podda et al.,
2015a,b] belonging to coastal habitats were conducted
to detect the effect of environmental abiotic stresses
such as salinity (e.g. NaCl), or the nutrient availability
(e.g. KNO3) on the seed germination behaviour.
Germplasm identication by image analysis
Image analysis technique carried out at BG-SAR is
developed in order to identify and characterize the au-
tochthonous germplasm in entry to the bank. Basically,
digital images of germplasm are acquired by a atbed
scanner and successively processed and elaborated
with specic software as KS-400 V. 3.0 (Carl Zeiss Vi-
sion, Oberkochen, Germany) and ImageJ v.1.9 produc-
ing macros and plugins able to detect morphometric
and colorimetric measurements on seeds (Bacchetta et
al., 2008b; Bacchetta et al., 2010; Grillo et al., 2010;
Ucchesu et al., 2016b).
Applying this technique, Bacchetta et al. (2008b)
and Grillo et al. (2010) characterized and discrimi-
nated seeds of wild plants typical of the Mediterranean
vascular ora, referable to the Apiaceae, Asteraceae,
Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Cista-
ceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae and Scrophu-
lariaceae families. These studies stimulated further
researches in many areas, including agronomical eld
(e.g., Grillo et al., 2011; Orrù et al., 2012b, 2015; Lo
Bianco et al., 2015; Sarigu et al., 2017). In recent
years, the morphometric analyses were applied to
archaeological plants remains. These materials, such
as seeds and fruits, were studied with the aim to in-
vestigate the evolution of crops and wild plants, ex-
plore agrarian practices harvesting, crop processing
and determining the role of species with high cultural
and economic value, such as cereals and fruits [e.g.,
Cucumis melo L., Ficus carica L., Malus domestica
Borkh., Olea europaea L., Prunus domestica L., Pyrus
communis L. and Vitis sp. (Orrù et al., 2013; Sabato
et al., 2015; Ucchesu et al., 2014, 2016a,b)]. For ex-
ample, in the case of the Vitis genus, it was possible
to establish that the seeds found in the archaeological
site of Sa Osa (Cabras, Central-Eastern of Sardinia) in
a Nuragic well dated to Bronze Age (about 3000 Be-
fore Present “BP”; Orrù et al., 2013) belonged to grape
cultivar (Ucchesu et al., 2014) allowing to establish
that in Sardinia viticulture was present from to Bronze
Age. Recently, archaeological samples of Prunus sp.
of Santa Giusta (Oristano, Central-Easter of Sardinia)
were compared through morphometric analysis with
different traditional varieties and wild species from
Sardinia. This study allowed to identify correctly the
archaeological samples referable to P. spinosa and P.
domestica (Ucchesu et al., 2017).
Projects
An important part of nancing for BG-SAR comes
from regional, national and international projects.
Below, some of them are presented. For example, at
regional scale, the project denominated “Morpho-
colorimetric, ecophysiology and omic analysis of Vi-
tis vinifera and Vitis sylvestris in Sardegna” funded
in September 2015 through the “Legge Regionale 7
agosto 2007 RAS”. The expected results will consist
to draw phyletic relationships between Sardinian wild
grapes, cultivated grapes, and the archaeological seeds
(found in archaeological contexts).
The “Pilot project of Gentiana lutea L. in situ and
ex situ conservation, genetic characterization, popula-
tional reinforcement and reintroduction of Gentiana
lutea L.” was supported by the Autonomous Region
of Sardinia. The project allowed to assess the actual
distribution range of G. lutea in Sardinia, to investi-
gate the species phenology and the reproductive biol-
ogy, and to identify the main threatening factors for
this taxon; in addition, it allowed the implementation
of the ex situ and in situ conservation measures, the
identication of the optimal requirements for seed dor-
mancy release and germination, and the investigation
of the genetic diversity.
At international level, the LIFE+ PROVIDUNE pro-
ject “Conservation and restoration of habitats dune
in ve Site of Community Importance (SCI) areas of
the Provinces of Cagliari, Matera and Caserta” (2009-
2014; http://www.lifeprovidune.it), nanced by the
European Union, was aimed to protect and restore the
priority coastal dunes habitat with Juniperus ssp. and
other related habitats characterizing the Mediterranean
sandy coasts.
The LIFE+ project RES MARIS “Recovering En-
dangered Habitats in the Capo Carbonara MARIne
Area, Sardinia” (2014-2018; http://www.resmaris.eu)
aims at the conservation and recovery of marine and
terrestrial ecosystems of the emerged and submerged
beach system, in particular of priority habitats (DIR.
92/43/EEC) included in the marine SCI ITB040020
“Isola dei Cavoli, Serpentara, Punta Molentis e Cam-
pulongu” (Acunto et al., 2017). Within the terrestrial
conservation actions, the germplasm of the structural
species of each habitat was collected and the best pro-
tocols for germination were investigated to produce
plants for the restoration actions.
The ENPI CBC MED project ECOPLANTMED
“ECOlogical use of native PLANTs for environmen-
tal restoration and sustainable development in the
MEDiterranean region” (2014-2015; http://www.eco-
plantmed.eu) was aimed to the ex situ conservation,
duplication and germination experiments of the target
plant species, the publishing of the “Manual for the
propagation of the target native plant species” (Bal-

114 M. Porceddu et al.
lesteros et al., 2015) and the “Guide of good restora-
tion practices in Mediterranean habitat” (Marzo et al.,
2015), the creation of a germplasm bank in Tunisia and
nally, two pilot restoration actions of Mediterranean
habitats in Lebanon and Tunisia.
Since April 2016, BG-SAR is responsible of the scien-
tic management of the project CARE-MEDIFLORA
“Conservation Actions for Threatened Mediterranean
Island Flora: ex situ and in situ joint actions”, funded
by MAVA Foundation (http://www.care-mediora.eu/).
The project aims to improve the conservation status
of threatened Mediterranean plant species. It is imple-
mented by institutions of six Mediterranean islands and
the IUCN/SSC Mediterranean Plant Specialist Group.
Conclusions
In the latest years, good progress has been made at
BG-SAR relating to understanding the mechanisms of
seed behaviour, dormancy, germination, viability and
longevity of several taxa, as well as ensuring the pres-
ervation of plant biodiversity. In addition, through the
experimental researches carried out, further knowledg-
es are provided on the possibility of efcient preserva-
tion of seeds over long periods. All these approaches
allow BG-SAR, not only to attain an effective ex situ
conservation and to deepen the knowledge of the en-
dangered Mediterranean species, but also to face ac-
tual and important problems such as global warming
and invasiveness of alien species. The evaluation of
salt stress allows us, in particular for endemic and rare
species, to acquire information regarding their ger-
mination ecology that might be useful in the case of
population reintroduction. The knowledges obtained
for IAS, for example, give an important contribution
in developing a wide management strategy for the con-
trol of the biological invasions; in particular, we could
predict the potential ability of each species to success-
fully colonize via seeds some coastal habitats.
Concerning the image analysis, it has proved to be
a repeatable, reliable and non-destructive method. It is
fully accepted and utilized, not only for archaeological
studies and/or taxonomic investigations of wild taxa,
but also for studies on cultivated plants; this method can
be useful to compare different varieties, contributing to
the cataloguing and conservation in germplasm banks,
or allowing the denition of objective parameters for
the typifying of particular landraces in the attribution
of European trademarks such as protected designation
of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indica-
tion (PGI). In addition, it can be a valid helpful tool to
discover false attributions (synonyms/homonyms) and
origin of cultivars in different areas. The study of plant
remains provides the opportunity to explore agrarian
practices and crop domestication processing, enabling,
therefore, a deeper insight into the way farming com-
munities manage their crops and use plants for their
subsistence going beyond the mere identication of
plant species. Furthermore, scientic archaeobotanical
works are encouraged, which may have wider impli-
cations, as the identication of wild plants and to fa-
cilitate the study of the role of wild resources in human
subsistence as a complement to the diet.
Consistently with these observations, BG-SAR con-
tinues to promote further researches and projects that
are of fundamental importance for diversity plant con-
servation in the Mediterranean area, due to the position
of the island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea,
the inclusion in the Mediterranean mega-hotspot of
biodiversity and the high concentration of endemism.
Future researches may be focused, for example, on
nursery and plant production systems for wild plant spe-
cies that maximize genetic diversity, so that introduced
seeds and plant materials have the resilience to cope
with future environmental stresses (Hay and Probert,
2013). Regarding future perspectives, the bank is going
to expand the working area to genetic studies. A labo-
ratory dedicated to genetic analysis is in the planning,
design and construction phase; it will allow BG-SAR to
make a survey on genetic diversity of the studied taxa
(e.g., endemic and threatened ones), thus reconstructing
the best estimates of the historical and evolutionary re-
lationships among the various taxonomic entities.
As well, concerns about the costs of ex situ conserva-
tion compared with in situ conservation have been al-
layed, the ex situ conservation revealed to be excellent
value for money. Scientists, government departments
and non-governmental organisations increasingly ap-
preciate seed banking as an effective and economic
conservation tool because of its complementarity to in
situ approaches (Li and Pritchard, 2009). Especially in
this time of nancial crisis where the most scientic
works are self-funded, the regional, national and in-
ternational projects provide the resources necessary to
continue in this important direction for the seed bank-
ing conservation. Regarding the critical aspects, as
already mentioned in a previous paper regarding the
BG-SAR (Atzeri et al., 2012), the bank has no special
management problems but it is necessary to highlight
the difculties due to the precarious work of most of
the staff. Even the high management costs are not cov-
ered by a safe and consistent revenue. According to
this vision, we argue that BG-SAR can be considered
an important tool for the preservation of plant diver-
sity, as well as the several germplasm banks that con-
stantly and daily work to preserve and conserve the
planet’s biodiversity.
Acknowledgements
The activities of BG-SAR have been partially sup-
ported by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Met-

115
The Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR)
ropolitan City of Cagliari, Forestas - Sardinia Forest
Agency and MAVA foundation. The authors thank P.
Atzeri and R. Sarigu (HBK) for help with work.
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