Germplasm Conservation

Germplasm conservation refers to the conservation of living genetic resources - pollen, seeds or plant tissue - maintained specifically for the purposes of selective plant breeding, preservation in a living condition, and use in ongoing research. In practice, germplasm conservation is largely built around the collection of seeds and pollen, which are stored in dedicated seed banks or pollen banks (Figure 5.15) so that their viability and fertility are maintained for later use, such as in hybridisation programmes and crop improvement work. At a larger scale, germplasm conservation can also involve gene banks and DNA banks holding the genetic material of elite breeding lines, maintained both to preserve overall biological diversity and to underpin long-term food security. Because germplasm conservation preserves whole living material rat …