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Ex Situ Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources: Global Development and Environmental Concerns
Abstract
Conservation of plant genetic resources is achieved by protection of populations in nature (in situ) or by preservation of
samples in gene banks (ex situ). The latter are essential for users of germplasm who need ready access. Ex situ conservation
also acts as a back-up for certain segments of diversity that might otherwise be lost in nature and in human-dominated ecosystems.
The two methods are complementary, yet better understanding of this interrelation and the role of ex situ conservation in
global environmental considerations is needed. Inclusion of ex situ conservation efforts within current environmental policies
conserving global diversity would focus greater international attention on the safeguarding of these efforts.
... Because of the fundamental roles of plants in terrestrial ecosystems, their extinctions can lead to the extinctions of many other organisms directly relying on them (Miller et al., 2005), such as obligate coevolution species. Fortunately, we can conserve them either with their whole populations in ecosystems (in situ) or with their individuals away from natural habitats (ex situ) (Cohen et al., 1991). ...
... Especially when a particular ecosystem or a taxon is critically endangered, ex situ collections can provide urgent aid conservation, as well as a reservoir to initiate reintroduction efforts (Strauss et al., 1988). As the main institutions for the ex situ conservation of plant diversity, botanic gardens (including arboreta) have made significant contributions to the conservation of many crops and endangered plants, as well as ecological restoration (Cohen et al., 1991;Costa et al., 2016;León-Lobos et al., 2012;León-Lobos et al., 2010;Mounce et al., 2017;Oldfield, 2009;Raven and Havens, 2014;Swarts and Dixon, 2009). So far, botanic gardens have conserved dozens of plant species that are extinct in the wild (e.g., Franklinia alatamaha Marshall (Theaceae) and Sophora toromiro Skottsb. ...
Due to intensified human pressure and climate change, ex situ conservation measures have become essential for conserving Earth's remaining biodiversity, but the development of targeted ex situ conservation strategies based on conservation gaps analysis is often a major challenge. Here, we used a dated phylogeny including 95.70 % of the Chinese vascular genera and 1,540,695 species distribution records to identify ex situ conservation gaps in the tree of life and geographic space in China. We found that at least 41.70 % (12,716 species) of all vascular plant species (30,494 species), including 49.31 % (1715 species) of Chinese endangered species, are conserved in the botanic gardens. The results show that most species in ex situ collections are from eastern China and have been housed in botanic gardens in this region, whereas several plant diversity hotpots in the southwestern and northwestern regions are not well represented in ex situ conservation; only 12.67 % of the collection capacity of the Chinese botanic gardens is allocated to endangered species; there are 18 phylogenetic clusters of genera absent from the ex situ collections and the missing species are mostly from alpine or desert, mainly distributed in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains and northern Xinjiang. Therefore, we suggest that more collection capacity of China be devoted to endangered species particularly in the southwestern and northwestern regions. Our study provides quantified resources of targeted inventory and area for future ex situ conservation in China, and a fundamental protocol to invest the future achievement of local or global ex situ conservation.
... This is common in Populus, as many varieties are intentionally introduced, providing conditions for artificial hybridization and introgression [100]. Compared to wild populations, cultivated ones generally have low genetic diversity because founder effects and genetic drift occurred during the process of demonstration and cultivation [77,101], such as Spondias purpurea [102], Morus species [103], and Zanthoxylum [104]. In this study, cultivated C. debaoensis and C. guizhouensis species transplanted from nature to be reintroduced after breeding did not differ from wild populations. ...
Understanding the genetic structure and differentiation in endangered species is of significance in detecting their phylogenetic relationships and prioritizing conservation. Here we sampled five endangered Cycas species endemic to southwest China and genotyped genetic structure and differentiation among them using the genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) method. C. hongheensis showed high genetic diversity, but the other four species showed low genetic diversity. The genetic diversity between wild and cultivated populations was similar for C. debaoensis and C. guizhouensis, respectively. Low genetic differentiation and high gene flow were found among C. debaoensis, C. guizhouensis, and C. fairylakea, and C. hongheensis differentiated from them at ~1.74 Mya. TreeMix results showed historic migration events from C. guizhouensis to C. hongheensis, showing southward migration pathways. C. hongheensis showed increased effective population size with time, while the other four species underwent bottleneck events at ~1–5 Mya when continuous cooling events occurred. Our results indicate that the migration, differentiation, and speciation of Cycas species are associated with historical cooling events.
... Information gained from field trials has resulted in significant improvements in applied forestry and management practices (Hodge et al. 2012) and traits that are of little value now may become useful in the future (Behm et al. 1997). Such conservation actions are long-term activities that require a large initial investment and have ongoing costs (Cohen et al. 1991). The most expensive phase of living collections is their establishment and cultivation (Mann 1997). ...
Collections of living trees (hereafter arboreta) are important sites for conservation, research on species selection for forestry, and as sentinel sites for monitoring pests and diseases. Arboreta can also be the source of propagules for biological invasions. Between 2012 And 2022 a survey was undertaken to assess the status of arboreta in South Africa and the taxa present in such sites, the first such assessment since 1986. At least 172 arboreta have been present in South Africa, but 51 of these are no longer present, with the total number of arboreta peaking around 1980 and has been in decline since. Arboreta have been lost mostly because of conversion of sites to other land-uses, but in some cases because arboreta were felled or burnt down and not replaced. Most of the remaining 121 arboreta are on municipal or forestry land. The biggest challenge facing extant arboreta on forestry, municipal or private property is the financial burden of maintaining the collections. The extant arboreta house 2309 taxa from 158 plant families: of these 128 taxa (occurring variously in 88 arboreta) are listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered or Extinct in the Wild under the 2020 IUCN Red List; and 400 taxa (occurring variously in 113 arboreta) have been listed as invasive somewhere in the world. Biogeographic regions relatively well represented are the East African Steppe, Sino-Japanese, West African Rainforest, North-eastern Australian and Caribbean, making the arboreta valuable sources of germplasm for taxa from these regions. Arboreta are an important resource for South Africa, but a resource that appears to be in decline. If the value of current arboreta for conservation, education, and research is to be fulfilled, they need to be formally catalogued, their species lists regularly updated, and measures put in place to ensure their sustainability.
... Conservación del cultivo de la papaSegúnCohen et al. (1991), en EEUU la conservación ex situ del cultivo de la papa se divide en cuatro eventos de conservación, que comprenden desde la exploración de las plantas e introducción de estas a una base adecuada de germoplasma para colecciones nacionales e internacionales, hasta la utilización de los recursos genéticos vegetales y/o la información generada a partir de estos, fomentando en todo momento el vínculo con los agricultores, asociaciones de conservación y biotecnología y finalmente, redes nacionales e internacionales.A medida que las especies vegetales se ven afectadas por la destrucción de su hábitat natural y el cambio climático, las acciones para garantizar la conservación ex situ del germoplasma se vuelven cada vez más ne- ...
La papa pertenece al género Solanum, subgénero Potatoe, sección Petota, la cual reúne a 19 series, entre las cuales se encuentran las especies formadoras de tubérculos (serie tuberosa). Las especies S. tuberosum ssp. tuberosum y S. tuberosum ssp. andigena, o también llamadas S. tuberosum grupo Chilotanum y grupo Andigenum, respectivamente, son las principales representantes de este cultivo y las que más aportan a la alimentación actual; estas series contienen un gran número de parientes silvestres que pueden contribuir con genes de resistencia a estreses bióticos y abióticos. Gran parte de las variedades de papa que se cultivan a nivel mundial fuera de las zonas andinas, descienden de Solanum tuberosum grupo Chilotanum. La diversidad de la papa a nivel mundial se conserva actualmente en cerca de 174 bancos de germoplasma que almacenan cerca de 30.000 accesiones de papa ex situ. El Banco de Germoplasma de Papas de la Universidad Austral de Chile mantiene 289 accesiones de S. tuberosum ssp. tuberosum del grupo Chilotanum que han mostrado alta variabilidad genética y presencia de múltiples caracteres de interés como resistencias a estreses bióticos y abióticos. Estos caracteres le confieren a este material un alto potencial para su uso en mejoramiento genético y la producción de nuevas variedades. Por lo anterior, es de suma importancia la conservación de su diversidad in situ y ex-situ, ya que los recursos genéticos representan una de las estrategias de mayor relevancia para enfrentar desafíos como el cambio climático global y cubrir la demanda alimentaria de la población mundial a corto y largo plazo en forma sustentable. En esta revisión se abordará la biodiversidad del cultivo de la papa, haciendo énfasis en las variedades presentes en Chile, considerando los métodos de conservación del cultivo y los avances en mejoramiento genético para el desarrollo de variedades más resistentes a estreses abióticos y bióticos.
... Examples include botanical gardens, gene, pollen or DNA banks etc. The ex situ conservation can act as a back-up method for certain plant species that might get lost in nature especially in human dominated environment 22 . ...
Rheum is normally known by the name Indian rhubarb, an endangered species of Northern Himalaya and belongs to Polygonaceae family. It is stout perennial herb distributed through the northern Himalayas at a height of 2800 to 3600 M. Rhubarb is efficiently used in Unani, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine system. Rhubarb is known to be a common ingredient in almost all Ayurvedic medicines related to gastrointestinal diseases. The common phytoconstituents of this species are derivatives of hydroxyanthraquinone like Emodin, Rhein, Aloe-emodin etc. Brief review of literature shows that the component Emodin has the anticancerous property and a great potential to inhibit cell proliferation. Rheum also has antimicrobial, antifungal and antibacterial activity. Along with medicinal uses, this herb is used in cosmetics, dyes and as food colouring agent. Rheum is highly diverse in its genetic constitutes. According to IUCN, this species is rapidly declining in its natural habitat. Thus the regeneration through tissue culture holds a major place for conservation; explants used for regeneration can be shoot tip or excised leaf. The only study about its genetic diversity and population structure in India is in Jammu and Kashmir which shows the way for study in other States also.
... But in situ conservation strategies often have an upper hand over ex situ strategy. The reason is the huge capital required to maintain long-term storage of germplasm (Cohen et al. 1991). Community-based approaches structured and implemented by M.S. Swaminathan are another strategy to safeguard and utilize landrace cultivars with the cooperation of local people, for instance Potato Park situated in Peru (Sonnino 2017). ...
Integrating greeneries into the indoor dwelling environment boosts work performance and relieves stress to add to the overall psychological well-being especially in deserted urban settings. In addition to mental soothing, thermal regulation, air purification, aesthetics, public health, and comfort, the addition of plants to indoor settings may also contribute to the conservation of dwindling floral biodiversity. Despite authorities’ pledge for sustainable urban management, the status of indoor gardening has hitherto remained unexplored in the emerging megapolis of Bangladesh—Chattogram—the second largest urban center of the country. In addressing that gap, this study aims to explore the composition, diversity, and management of indoor plants in urban dwellings at Halishahar of Chattogram based on interviews on 48 households selected through multistage random sampling. Data from all selected households were collected by using a semi-structured questionnaire through physically visiting the households. Almost half of the households (48%) living at Halishahar had indoor plants in their dwellings. The study recorded a handsome 120 indoor plant species belonging to 108 genera from 60 families. While the diversity was in no way comparable to the tropical ecosystem of the country, in consideration of the strict set of requirements for plants to be suitable for an indoor setting, the diversity seemed excellent as evident from four diversity indices. Soil mixed with compost, sand, and surki at different ratios is used as potting media. Pests were identified as the major challenge in managing the indoor plants. Application of domestic manure with the potting media was common as a means to maintain the nutrient flow. Bruised tea leaf is the most frequently added nutrient supplement. Apart from the aesthetic values, urban dwellers from Halishahar reported the immense potential of indoor gardening in supplementing daily nutrition and in mitigating the impacts of climate change. The lessons from this study can be used in informed policymaking for the promotion of biodiversity conservation and other benefits from indoor greening among urban dwellers in Bangladesh.
... But in situ conservation strategies often have an upper hand over ex situ strategy. The reason is the huge capital required to maintain long-term storage of germplasm (Cohen et al. 1991). Community-based approaches structured and implemented by M.S. Swaminathan are another strategy to safeguard and utilize landrace cultivars with the cooperation of local people, for instance Potato Park situated in Peru (Sonnino 2017). ...
Permaculture has been known to intentionally integrate diversity into the design of farms and mimic natural landscapes. This approach is in contrast to the mainstream monocropping system in conventional agriculture. The objectives of the study were to identify what plant species are commonly cultivated in permaculture farms and determine its uses as narrated by farmers and practitioners. The researchers conducted a crop inventory in 12 permaculture sites in the Philippines from August to November in 2018. To survey a 1 ha sampling area, a modified belt transect method with alternating 20 m2 plots was employed for full enumeration of plant species in each plot. To determine uses, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted among farm staff. A total of 215 plant species were identified with an average species richness of 46 per farm. A comparison of crop inventories revealed that Colocasia esculenta and Capsicum frutescens were the most commonly cultivated crops found in ten sites (83%). It is followed by Annona muricata (nine sites) and Bambusoideae (eight). Results revealed that the majority of crops found were cultivated for household consumption.
Plants are fundamental to directly or indirectly addressing most of humanity’s contemporary challenges such as food scarcity and insecurity, availability of shelter, energy, and industrial raw materials as well as human and environmental health issues and mitigating climate change. However, around 40% of documented plant species are threatened with extinction due to anthropogenic pressure, especially from exponential population growth, overexploitation and mismanagement, habitat loss, modification and fragmentation, introduced alien species, pollution, and novel diseases. Plant diversity and their sustainable conservation and utilization underpin globalization and sustainable development as well as greater options for human innovation and adaptation. Plant conservation approaches are mainly either in situ or ex situ and they may be complementary to each other. Other little-known plant conservation approaches are linked to or derived from in situ and ex situ plant conservation and includes inter situ, quasi in situ, and circa situm plant conservation approaches. This chapter focuses on ex situ plant conservation. Ex situ plant conservation wholly seeks to sustain options for human innovation and adaptation by preserving plant species and taxa outside their native and historic range through the utilization of different techniques and conservation approaches, such as seed and gene banking, cryopreservation, gardens, and arboreta. However, certain factors tend to hinder or disrupt ex situ conservation techniques, including disease outbreaks, unstable weather and climatic conditions required for a variety of plant species, limited genetic diversity, plant stress from reintroduction and poor ex situ infrastructure, and inefficient management systems. For instance, Zingiber species held in field gene banks are known to be affected by soil-borne diseases caused by the bacteria Ralstonia solacearum which can spread further by sticking to human hands. Other examples of disease outbreaks under ex situ plant conservation include Bogia coconut Syndrome’, cassava viral diseases, and Alomoa-bobone viral disease of taro (Colocasia esculenta). This chapter seeks to highlight the potential and actual impacts of disease outbreaks under ex situ conservation using some examples. This chapter outlines how some of these diseases among and within plant species maintained in ex situ conservation can be prevented and/or managed optimally through various effective management strategies as well as the roles of different stakeholders involved in plant germplasm management.KeywordsPlant disease managementDisease outbreakPlant conservationEx-situ conservationPlant diversityGermplasm management
Halimun-Salak Mountain National Park (HSMNP) is one of the largest tropical rain forests in West Java which has a greatest biodiversity. The biodiversity types include ornamental and medicinal plants. Both of types are the Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) with the potentiality to be economically developed. This research aimed to identify orchide species and medicinal plants in the HSMNP. This study was an initial step on ex situ conservation of forest plant species. Studies were conducted in the forest area between Cikaniki and Citalahab area in TNGHS, which the altitudes were between 1000 and 1900 m above sea level. Data collections were performed by exploration and identification of plants. Exploration results indicated the presence of 68 of orchid species and 14 species of medicinal plants. These species have mostly been used by the community around the forests for traditional medicinal purposes. Potency of ornamental and medicinal plants should be preserved and developed through ex situ conservation. These activities can be used as learning resources for the community with regard to cultivation techniques of orchids and medicinal plants.
Pulsatilla cernua is an endangered species in Japan and its seeds are often stored for long periods. However, the shelf life of these seeds is unclear. We conducted germination tests using P. cernua seeds that had been stored in a refrigerator at approximately 6°C for up to 31 years. Germination tests were conducted at 25°C under dark conditions. We assessed seed weight, number of germinated seeds, seedling development, and time to germination over a 30‐day period for each collection year. The highest germination rate was from seeds collected in the current year (2019; 82.7%). Germination rates remained high in seeds that had been stored for up to 7 years (>46%). However, there was a marked decline in germinability after the eighth year of storage and germination was not observed in seeds that had been stored for longer than 15 years. Approximately 20% of current‐year seeds and seeds that had been stored for up to 6 years developed into seedlings, but no seedlings developed from seeds that had been stored for 7 years or longer. The germination rate and the time to germination decreased and increased, respectively, with storage time. These results show that the shelf life of P. cernua seeds in cold storage at 6°C is approximately 6 years. To facilitate the ex situ conservation of this species, the germinability of stored seeds at lower temperatures and under other germination test conditions should be explored in future studies. To clarify the shelf life of the seeds of Pulsatilla cernua, an endangered species in Japan, we conducted germination tests using the seeds that had been stored in a refrigerator at approximately 6°C for up to 31 years. At 25°C under dark conditions, germination rates remained high in seeds that had been stored for up to 7 years (>46%), but no seedlings developed from seeds that had been stored for 7 years or longer.
Foreign assistance helps developing countries to achieve economic growth through wise use of natural resources. Conservation
interventions and sustainable use of natural resources play a central role in this development. Conservation and utilization
of genetic resources have traditionally proceeded as separate approaches. A conceptual approach to project design is presented
encouraging greater interaction between those conserving crop genetic resources and those seeking their economic application
in a sound land-use management plan. Projects illustrating this approach are being supported by the Agency for International
Development. They suggest a paradigm for research and development allowing interdisciplinary activities targeting sustainable
agriculture development.
La ayuda extranjera contribuye a que los países en desarrollo logren un crecimiento económico a través del uso apropriado
de sus recursos naturales. La interventión en la conservation y el uso sostenible de recursos naturales debe desempeñar un
papel primordial en este desarrollo. La conservatión y utilization de recursos genéticos tradicionalmente se ha considerado
como enfoques separados. Presentamos un enfoque conceptual para proyeetar el diseño, estimulando mayor interactión entre esos
recursos de productos geneticos de conservación y aquellos que buscan su aplicación económica en un plan bien fundamentado
de administratión en el uso de la tierra. La Agènda para el Desarrollo Internationál apoya proyectos que ilustran este sistema.
Se sugiere un paradigma para la investigation y el desarrollo permitiendo en estos proyeetos actividades interdisciplinarias
que enfoquen el desarrollo de una agricultura sostenible.
Nature Biotechnology journal featuring biotechnology articles and science research papers of commercial interest in pharmaceutical, medical, and environmental sciences.
Recent research on genetic and biological diversity suggests that they underlie, and are the source of renewable resources—which are themselves more fundamental than nonrenewable resources. However, recognition of this is hindered by various Western cultural and analytic biases that have generally led to the neglect of informal and natural systems. Signifcant implications flow from this recognition. Analysis and models at the global level—as well as their resource, environmental, and population components—will need to be considerably broadened to in clude the fundamental role of genetic and biological diversity. When this is done, the “limits to growth” debate takes on greater urgency, and the focus shifts. Agriculture is then seen as the key interface between natural and social systems. In addition, the whole notion that Third World countries should model their societies along current industrial lines is fundamentally challenged. At the national level, both industrial and developing countries will need to give priority to developing regenerative rural and agricultural systems To do this, industrial countries will need to move toward “food systems” approaches, while developing countries will need to conserve and build upon existing agroecosystems. This will require new development theories and practices that are more contextual and recognize the nonneutrality of Western technologies and economic theories. Finally, the larger threats posed by modern industrial society to the maintenance or creation of more sustainable and regenerative systems need to be included in any analysis. These include both the threat of nuclear war and the larger “war against nature” in which modem industrial society is engaged New concepts of “national security” are suggested along with corresponding shifts in national priorities.
Plant genetic resources are vital in safeguarding and increasing crop production and enhancing human nutrition, particularly in a Man-dominated world. Crop genetic resources are currently under threat of loss for various reasons. Conservation as seed is the most common and practicable method of preserving plant genetic resources. The International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR), in cooperation with gene-banks around the world, has created a global network of base-collections. In order to minimize losses of stock in the gene-banks, standards were developed in 1985 and base-collections were assessed against them.
Most developing countries rely for the greater part of their crop production on introduced crops, which show both advantages and dangers. To reduce the dangers, countries need effective plant quarantine services. To promote the advantages, national crop introduction and germplasm storage are needed, and plant breeding institutes can work with the international agricultural research centres, which provide plant germplasm and expertise needed for successful crop introduction and sustainable production. The continued improvement of introduced crops worth $100 bn annually to developing countries has been overlooked in the current international debate on plant genetic resources and may be placed in jeopardy by increasing emphasis on issues of conservation and ownership of plant germplasm, to the neglect of plant introduction.
The relative costs and benefits of genetic stock collections and germ plasm collections are discussed. The status of national and international collections is compared with the needs of plant breeders and geneticists. There is an international need for germ plasm systems that emphasize the use and employment of materials rather than acquisition and storage. For base collections to function, they must provide for regeneration, characterization, documentation, and evaluation of their materials. The quality of a germ plasm system should be judged on the basis of the quality of the materials available to scientists. Adequate quantities of high-quality seed that are of known provenience, spanning the range of known genetic diversity, promptly delivered, and well described constitute the minimum that should be expected. All too often such minimal requirements are not met.
Crop Exploration and Utilization of Genetic Resources
- T T Chang
Plant Population Genetics, Breeding, and Genetic Resources
- D R Marshall