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Title: CORE SUBSETS FROM A CURATOR'S VIEWPOINT

Author
item Lamboy, Warren

Submitted to: American Society of Horticulture Science Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2001
Publication Date: 7/1/2001
Citation: LAMBOY, W.F. CORE SUBSETS FROM A CURATOR'S VIEWPOINT. AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HORTICULTURE SCIENCE MEETING. 2001.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: At the USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU) in Geneva, NY, we have established core subsets of apple (Malus) and grape (Vitis) germplasm. Plants in these genera are typically long-lived woody perennials that are clonally propagated. At Geneva, a core subset is an assemblage of accessions, selected from a germplasm collection, that is intended to reasonably represent the genetic diversity of the entire collection. The purpose of the core subset is to provide a window into the genetic diversity contained in the collection that will enable a germplasm user to more rapidly locate specific accessions that might be of interest. Determination of which accessions from a collection should be included in a core subset can be made using information on taxonomy, geographic origin, phenotype, genetic markers and other characteristics. Core subsets are not intended to decrease the overall effort needed to maintain a germplasm collection; in fact, quite often, they increase it. Nevertheless, they hav the potential to decrease the effort expended by germplasm users in identifying germplasm of interest. The extent to which this potential is realized depends on how strongly the characteristics used to construct the core subset correlate with the characteristics of interest to the user. The amount of resources utilized by a curator in constructing, maintaining, and refining a core subset should be balanced against the actual or estimated potential savings realized by users of that collection. These savings should be measured not only in terms of the number accessions that did not need to be evaluated, but also in terms of whether the characteristics of interest were actually found. Successes in utilizing the core subsets for grapes and apples will be discussed.