Plant genetic resources

Biodiversity and genetic resource

1. Biodiversity : wilson (1988) by shortening biological diversity Banham (1993) the degree of variety in nature. It is variability among living organisms. Is the basic biotic resource to sustain life Food and environmental security is dependent on biodiversity May provide valuable traits to meet future challenges such as Changing climate conditions Reduction in supply of water and nutrients Combating disease outbreaks Biodiversity

2. Even the wild botanical relatives of food crops found usually around the cultivated crops can be important sources of genes to grow in stressful conditions

3. Variation of genes among the same species Generates distinct populations of the same species Genetic diversity

4. Refers to the variety of species in a region Can be measured simply on the basis of number of species in a region Species diversity

5. Variety of communities living in an ecosystem In an ecosystem, there may exist different landforms each supporting distinct vegetation and life forms Ecosystem diversity

6. Plant genetic resources: use them or loose them Include all our agricultural crops and their wild relatives The objective of this study includes to understand how we can acquire, maintain, distribute plant genetic resources

7. The idea goes 1200 years back H unters realised that plants could be saved and seeds can be planted season to season Then they used to save seeds/crops which were easiest to save/process Those which most likely survived till growing season Those which simply tasted best

8. Resultantly, > 7000species were collected Many remain localized to isolated communities Exploiting their potential is crucial to achieve food security

9. It is estimated that about 30 crops provide 95% food and energy requirements Rice, wheat, maize and potatoes>60% A potential role of a very small number of crops for global food security, Pivotal to conserve diversity among these major crops

10. The diversity is often immense The number of distinct rice varieties: Oryza sativa is >100000 Only in Andes, the farmers cultivate <175 locally known tomato varieties Intra species diversity in the crops favours its cultivation in Different regions Different situation Weather and soil conditions

11. Rapid increase in human population Industrialization and economic growth Many plant and animal species are being destroyed rapidly Indiscriminate deforesting Acquisition of agricultural lands for residential purposes Results in elimination of plant species Other life forms dependent on plants in that region Threats to genetic diversity

12. Estimated 5-30M species of living forms exist Only 1.5M have been identified These include 300K green plants and fungi 800K species of insects 40K species of vertebrates 360K species of microorganisms Global biodiversity level

13. International union for conservation of nature and natural resources reported that , 11% of known bird species are endangered. survey by centre for plant conservation reported that 680 plant species will become extinct in USA soon 20% of known freshwater fish species are seriously threatened Biodiversity crises

14. Biodiversity loss is undue human interference with other life forms It looks human race is head to battle against all other life forms Arrogant role of human beings as Homo sapiens is the only species and others donot matter Nearly 2000 species of higher plants will be endangered, rare and threated with extinction soon (Bajaj, 1995) Loss of biodiversity

15. Human beings put great effort on selection of superior varieties Selective breeding resulting in promotion of superior qualities Ignoring inferior qualities In this way some novel qualities may be depleted from the population e.g desirable characters in plants Human selection

16. High yield Easy to cultivate Salt tolerance Drought resistance Resistance to insects Selection targets

17. Loss of individual genes and gene combinations from a species by The replacement of local varieties by the modern varieties The emergence of new pests The resistance in pests to pesticides Environmental changes Genetic erosion

18. The problem is how to conserve what remains of natural biodiversity for future generations Genetic resources are renewable if used/managed properly No region/country is self sufficient in genetic resources Some crops/ varities introduced from other countries become major crops of adoption countries Conservation of genetic resources

19. Conservation of biodiversity The sustainable use of components of genetic diversity Sharing of benefits of genetic resources Objectives GR conservation

20. Conservation of microorganisms which help in Revival of biological potential of land reclamation of wastelands and Protection to domesticated plant and animal species Breeding of threatened species through modern techniques of tissue culture and biotechnology The main areas addressed

21. Control of over exploitation of agricultural lands for industrial or domestic use Introduction of exotic species after appropriate investigation

22. UNO Food and agriculture organization (FAO) (1961) Put a formal footing on plant exploration in 1965 A panel on forest gene resources was established in 1968 Held many meetings under FAO and international biological programme (IBP) Efforts of UNO

23. The real work began by the establishment of International board for plant genetic resources (IBPGR) by Consultative group on international agriculture research (CGIAR)

24. Their tasks include Promotion, collection, conservation and evaluation of plant genetic resources of economic concern Defined about 50 priority crops and their wild relatives needing urgent action Located priority regions/areas to be surveyed Main goals

25. Raising awareness in the international community of rapid gene erosion Developed the gene bank standards Code of conduct for plant germplasm collection and transfer Achievements

26. In the 1990s, the Commission coordinated efforts in more than 100 countries to assess and report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and agriculture 1996, 50 countries adopted the Global Plan of Action for the c onservation and s ustainable u tilization of plant g enetic r esources for Food and Agriculture.

27. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2004) 120 countries agreed to facilitate access to genetic resources of 64 important crops Sharing the benefits of using plant genetic resources Funding to developing countries

28. The Global Crop Diversity Trust Supports the ex situ conservation of crop genetic diversity