NE009: Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources
Statement of Issues and Justification
Statement of Issues and Justification The Need: America's abundant and inexpensive supply of food and fiber is based on a productive and progressive agricultural system. The foundation for this productivity has been based on scientific knowledge and exploitation of useful genetic diversity for developing new, higher quality cultivars that can resist pests, diseases, and environmental stresses. Genetic uniformity of modern cultivars results in a noteworthy lack of genetic diversity with the potential attendant susceptibility to new pest and abiotic stresses. The genes that are needed to provide a continued flow of new varieties that produce higher yields with better quality, and better withstand pests, diseases, and abiotic stresses can only come from diverse plant germplasm. Most of the food crops important in the American diet have their origin in other parts of the world. Genetic diversity of plant species has evolved in centers of origin wherever this has occurred in the world. This source of different genes continues to be essential for plant breeders and other scientists to breed new varieties that are important to American consumers today. The diversity of genes in currently used varieties in the United States does not represent the full genetic diversity that exists among landraces and wild species available in centers of origin. The germplasm collections at the National Plant Germplasm System represent an important repository of such germplasm for crop improvement. Additionally, the diversity of genes already in collections available in the United States still need further characterization to be more useful to breeders and other scientists, and they must be forever conserved in our gene banks. This is especially true with new restrictions on overseas germplasm access that have developed in the past few years. Many northeastern State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAESs) have research and extension responsibilities for these valuable commodities. The vegetable crops maintained at Geneva account for about 46% of the value of U.S. production and the fruit crops account for 53% of the value of production of fruit trees and vines.Proposed Objectives: 1) Acquire, maintain/regenerate, characterize, document, and distribute plant genetic resources for use in the Northeast, the United States, and the World while ensuring the identity of each accession as to species (or hybrid) and cultivar; 2) Determine the basis for and the extent of genetic variations, the geographic distribution of cultivated species, and their taxonomic relationships with closely related species and to determine the genetic mechanisms controlling the inheritance of important traits; 3) Characterize/evaluate accessions for specific traits, including high-priority traits such as nutritional content of fruits and vegetables; 4) Combine genes from diverse sources into germplasm more useful to plant breeders and to breed, release, maintain, and evaluate improved germplasm and cultivars. Note: Objectives 3-4 require the cooperation of collaborators. Forging the links between PGRU and reliable and productive cooperators should be viewed as part of these objectives.
Importance of the Work: Previous and current versions of this project (NE009) have made considerable contributions to the vegetable and fruit industry through provision of the basic genetic material for maintaining and improving productivity of these crops through development of improved varieties of vegetables and fruits with higher and more stable yield, disease and insect resistance, and improved quality. In the past five years, this project has acquired 925 new accessions of rare or endangered samples of germplasm for incorporation into the NE-9 collections. Many of these accessions are native to parts of the world where natural habitats are being destroyed as populations increase and move into underdeveloped lands. The NE-9 project currently maintains 8,400 accessions of rare and valuable fruit crops such as apple (6072), grape (1324), and tart cherries (104). The clonally-propagated apples and cherry accessions are backed up in cryogenic storage based on protocols developed with the USDA, ARS, NCGRP in Fort Collins, CO. Also maintained are 12,589 accessions of vegetable crops such as tomato, onion, cabbage and other cole crops, and a number of smaller collections including asparagus, celery, buckwheat, etc. Without the acquisition and maintenance of this material, erosion of habitats in centers of origin of these and other important crops would surely result in extinction of much or most of this important genetically diverse material that has evolved over millions of years. While maintaining the germplasm, scientists working on this project also characterize it for useful traits to make the material more readily usable by plant breeders and others who request accessions from the collections. During the last five years of the NE-9 project, 22,207 seed samples were distributed for the vegetable crops and 39,418 samples of budwood, cuttings, pollen, DNA as well as seed of wild species for the fruit crops. These samples have been sent from 9,407 accessions of vegetable crops and 3,779 accessions of fruit crops.
Technical Feasibility and Value of a Multi-state Project: Acquisition, conservation, and characterization of germplasm collections are activities that by their nature are best done at a central location rather than be done by individual states, which would result in inefficient duplication of efforts. An integrated team approach involving state partners and the Plant Genetic Resources Unit allows for an efficient conservation of germplasm while plant breeders and other scientists from individual states take the lead in characterization, especially for important quality and pest resistance traits. Utilization of germplasm for crop improvement by geneticists at individual state experiment stations capitalizes on the genetic resources and evaluation information maintained by the Plant Genetic Resources Unit.
Impact: Genes acquired from the NE-9 collection will be used to breed disease-resistant varieties of crops, thereby stabilizing production and reducing dependency on agricultural pesticides, increasingly important with the rapid emergence of exotic diseases. The collections will be used as sources of resistance to environmental stresses, such as high temperatures that reduces fruit set. With the increasing public acceptance of the relationship between diet and health, many of the plant species in the NE-9 collection are increasingly being studied for health-promoting phytochemicals they contain that are extremely important in the human diet to reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other threats to human health. Finally, maximizing the use of available germplasm at the PGRU will help to keep U.S. producers competitive in a world marketplace where there is now 'One World' competitiveness within agriculture.
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