The German Federal Ex Situ Genebank for Agricultural and Horticultural Crops – Conservation, exploitation and steps towards a bio-digital resource centre

Stephan Weise; Frank R. Blattner; Andreas Börner; Klaus J. Dehmer; Marion Grübe; Dörte Harpke; Ulrike Lohwasser; Markus Oppermann; Nils Stein; Evelin Willner; Manuela Nagel

doi:10.46265/genresj.GYDY5145

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Published: Mar 10, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46265/genresj.GYDY5145

Keywords:

German crop genebank, plant genetic resources, conservation, Ex-situ, in vitro, cryo, documentation, exploitation

Stephan Weise

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4031-9131

Frank R. Blattner

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7731-7741

Andreas Börner

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3301-9026

Klaus J. Dehmer

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Parkweg 3a, 18190 Sanitz, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3735-5051

Marion Grübe

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2220-1981

Dörte Harpke

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1667-2912

Ulrike Lohwasser

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3788-5258

Markus Oppermann

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3370-3218

Nils Stein

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany; Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Universit¨atsplatz 10, 06108 Halle, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3011-8731

Evelin Willner

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Inselstr. 9, 23999 Malchow/Poel, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4153-4418

Manuela Nagel

Genebank Department, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Seeland, Germany

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0396-0333

Abstract

Over more than 80 years, the collections of the German Federal Ex Situ Genebank for Agricultural and Horticultural Crops have grown to around 152,000 accessions of 3,000 species preserved at three locations: Gatersleben, Groß Lüsewitz and Malchow/Poel. More than 96% of the material is stored as desiccation-tolerant orthodox seeds according to the active–base–safety (A-B-S) replicate approach at -18°C. Almost 70,000 freshly regenerated safety replicates are stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. However, 4% of the material (2,000 field, 3,000 in vitro and 2,500 cryopreserved accessions) can only be maintained vegetatively, as no or few seeds or no true-breeding seeds are available. Most of the accessions are provided via the standard material transfer agreement (SMTA) and more than 1.2 million samples have been distributed since the genebank was founded. To guarantee the identity of the living plant material, reference samples comprising about 450,000 voucher specimens, 110,000 seed and fruit samples and 57,000 cereal spikes are used for comparisons. Genebank workflows are supported by the Genebank Information System (GBIS), which also manages workflow-independent data to describe the genebank accessions by passport, phenotypic and taxonomic data, thus allowing users to make targeted selections of material. The genebank-related processes, including acquisition, preservation, regeneration, documentation and material distribution, are certified for quality management in accordance with ISO 9001. Nowadays, the genebank is undergoing a transformation process to become a bio-digital resource centre to improve utilization of the genetic resources in research and breeding to address future challenges.

How to Cite

Weise, S., Blattner, F. R., Börner, A., Dehmer , K. J., Grübe , M., Harpke , D., Lohwasser , U., Oppermann , M., Stein , N., Willner , E. and Nagel, M. (2025) “The German Federal Ex Situ Genebank for Agricultural and Horticultural Crops – Conservation, exploitation and steps towards a bio-digital resource centre”, Genetic Resources, (S2), pp. 91–105. doi: 10.46265/genresj.GYDY5145.

Issue

No. S2 (2024): Special Issue – Ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources in Europe: A journey through history, mission, challenges and future opportunities

Section

Genebank report

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