Technologies from agriculture to help “Noah” save plants

Authors: Walters, Christina

Submitted to: Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2019
Publication Date: 5/1/2020
Citation: Walters, C.T. 2020. Technologies from agriculture to help “Noah” save plants. Symposium Proceedings. 146:176-187.

Interpretive Summary: This presentation describes genebanking plant genetic resources from an agricultural perspective. It provides some recent examples of how plant genetic resources are used to improve crops and contribute to sustainable agricultural production. Two strategies for genebanking plants are distinguished: living collections typically used by botanical gardens and quiescent collections in which germplasm from diverse plant tissues is maintained alive and then grown out as needed. Quiescent collections are extremely efficient in terms of the high diversity that can be stored in a small space, reduced levels of human inputs to care for stored germplasm relative to growing plants, and lower risk of loss from environmental catastrophe. That said, maintaining germplasm in a state of 'suspended animation' requires advanced technologies that rely on a range of scientific disciplines including cryobiology, food science and material science. The basic principle for preservation is biophysical and requires a non-lethal transition of cytoplasm from an aqueous-based fluid to a solid. Molecular motion in a solid slows but doesn't stop, such that germplasm ages, but on a protracted time scale. Hence, the technologies of genebanking "buy time" to resolve some of the thornier issues of species protection.

Technical Abstract: This presentation describes genebanking plant genetic resources from an agricultural perspective. It provides some recent examples of how plant genetic resources are used to improve crops and contribute to sustainable agricultural production. Two strategies for genebanking plants are distinguished: living collections typically used by botanical gardens and quiescent collections in which germplasm from diverse plant tissues is maintained alive and then grown out as needed. Quiescent collections are extremely efficient in terms of the high diversity that can be stored in a small space, reduced levels of human inputs to care for stored germplasm relative to growing plants, and lower risk of loss from environmental catastrophe. That said, maintaining germplasm in a state of 'suspended animation' requires advanced technologies that rely on a range of scientific disciplines including cryobiology, food science and material science. The basic principle for preservation is biophysical and requires a non-lethal transition of cytoplasm from an aqueous-based fluid to a solid. Molecular motion in a solid slows but doesn't stop, such that germplasm ages, but on a protracted time scale. Hence, the technologies of genebanking "buy time" to resolve some of the thornier issues of species protection.