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Seed conservation : Global approach

V V GadadPGS14AGR6337

Ph.D ScholarSeed Science & Technology

UAS Dharwad

Flow of presentation

Introduction

Conservation-global concern

In- situ conservation

Ex- situ conservation

International organisations for seed conservation

The ultimate seed vault

Wrap up!

Biodiversity • Degree of variations of life forms• The totality of genes, species and ecosystems of region

It can be defined as the variability among and between the living organisms and species of surrounding ecosystems and ecological complexes of their life support.

Genetic resources• Animal genetic resources• Plant genetic resources• Microbial genetic resources• Marine genetic resource

One third of the global plant species are threatened in different level. -International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Major threat to rapid loss and extinction of genetic diversity-• Habitat destruction• Pollution• Climate change• Invasion of exotic species• Human population pressure• Ever increasing agricultural pressure and practices and • Life style change

(Opdam and Wascher, 2004)

Conservation –Global challenge

• Global population approaching towards 9.1 billion in 2050 –need of 70% increase in the food production

(Godfray et al., 2010)• Undertaking of effective as well as productive agricultural land uses has raised global challenge of

conserving biodiversity.(Tscharntke et al., 2012)

• Conserve plant genetic diversity- essential for food security-FAO

Hence, International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture came into exist in 2001 to recognize farmers contribution to the diversity of crops, establish mechanism to

access plant genetic materials and share benefits of developing genetic materials (FAO, 2014).

• The very objective of germplasm conservation (or storage) is to preserve the genetic diversity of a particular plant or genetic stock for its use at any time in future.

• In recent years, many new plant species with desired and improved characteristics have started replacing the primitive and conventionally used agricultural plants.

• It is important to conserve the endangered plants or else some of the valuable genetic traits present in the primitive plants may be lost.

Conservation – global concern

• A global body namely International Board of Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) now named Bioversity International has been established for germplasm conservation. • Its main objective is to provide necessary

support for collection, conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources throughout the world.

Two basic methods : 

- In-situ conservation

- Ex-situ conservation

Methods of conservation

In-situ conservation is on-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant , such as forest genetic resources in natural populations of tree species.

It is the process of protecting an endangered plant  in its natural habitat, either by protecting or cleaning up the habitat itself, or by defending the species from predators.

It is applied to conservation of agricultural biodiversity in agro ecosystems by farmers, especially those using unconventional farming practices.

Methods of in-situ conservation:

Protected areasConservation on-farmHome gardens

The major limitations of in-situ conservation are listed below:i. The risk of losing germplasm due to

environmental hazards

ii. The cost of maintenance of a large number of

genotypes is very high.

Today, there are about 37,000 protected areas, parks,

sanctuaries and biosphere reserves all around the world!!!

Protected areas

A network of 668 protected areas (PAs) has been established comprising

102 national parks515 wild life sanctuaries47 conservation reserves4 community reserves

Source: www.moef.nic.in

On-farm conservation and home gardens

Conservation On-farm:Maintenance of useful species in the production systems where they

are grown.The oldest agro biodiversity method of conservation ever practiced

by humankind since the discover of agriculture.Farmers maintain crops through their continued cultivation, and

although they may not be aware of the genetic diversity they harbour on their farms, they contribute through their work to informally safeguard traditional crops that meet local needs both for their own families and for their communities (Mekbib et al., 2009).

The conservation of crops on-farm has several advantages compared with ex-situ conservation

Advantages • Allows for evolution of crops through

continued natural and human-driven selection, which contribute to greater adaptation and resilience in cultivation.

• Makes possible the maintenance of crops whose seeds cannot be stored at the low temperatures of genebanks.

• Supports the maintenance of traditional knowledge (TK, often termed indigenous knowledge – IK) associated with their use.

Disadvantages

• Limited access to germplasm for breeders and other users• Vulnerability of crops to

natural disasters• The fact that less diversity

can be stored at any single location.

In-situ conservation of unique land races of Rice by Shri. Shankar Langati

Ratnachuda, a fine grain good quality rice Bangarakaddi, a fine grain good quality rice

Karigajaville, an aromatic with good nutrition Dambarsali, a purple rice variety for weed identification

Conservation of unique land races of Rice, vegetables and legumes by Shri. Shankar Langati, Gundenatti, Belguam, Karnataka

In-situ conservation of unique land races of Rice by Shri. Shankar Langati

Ambemohr, a fine grain aromatic rice Raj Bhog, a fine grain aromatic rice

Gandhasale, fine graine aromatic rice Kumkum sali, a good quality aromatic rice

Conservation of Unique land races of vegetables

Seven leaf Bhendi Backyard Brinjal Hairy Cluster bean

Table purpose pumpkin Desi Tomato (table purpose)

Conservation of Unique land races of vegetables

Madiwala Bitterguard

Gandigawada Brinjal

Perinnal Bitter guard

Local Ridge guard

Practice of in situ green manuring, organic farming and water conservation

Storage of different land races of rice and other crops

Awards secured for conservation of traditional varieties.

Organisation of exhibitions, field days and Farmers’ field school

Participation in State level Seed saviour conference

1. Indrani 16.Sonum2. Hegge 17.Nadandar Sali3. Kunkum Sali 18.Manila4. Krishna Kumu 19.Jadagi5. Ratna Chudi 20. Dodda batta6. Chandrikya Mugad 21.Ganda Sali7. Barma Black 22.Karigijivili8. Honne Kattu 23.Intan9. Shiddagiri-2 24.Belgum Basmati10. Padma Rekha 25.Dodda byairenellu11. Mugad Dodgya 26.Mapale Samba12. Navali Sali 27.Ramagalli13. Bangar Kaddi 28.Karihakkala Sali14. Mysore Mallige 29.Dambar Sali15. Mugad Suganda 30. Kalajeeva

31. Rajabhoga

Traditional rice varieties conserved at Gundenhatti Village

1. Madaki2. White Alasndi3. Red Alasandi4. Gurellu(Niger)5. Malenad Alasandi6. Kari Hurali7. Kari Hesaru8. Kempu Hurali9. Gadde Avare10. Vatani11. Kare Kadale12. Green Hesaru 13. Chennangi

Traditional pulse varieties Traditional vegetable varieties

1. Badane (brinjal)

2. Mulangi(Raddish)

3. Sorekai

4. Entene Bende

5. Chappara Avare

6. Kidney Beans

7. Heere

8. Tuppire

9. Chakkar Kumbala

1. Yenigar Sorghum

1. White Sorghum

1. Javari Sajje

1. Kari Ragi

1. Kempu Ragi

1. Urupula Navane

1. Hala Navane

1.Amrut Godi

2. Kempu Godi

Traditional millets varieties Traditional Wheat varieties

Contact numbers:Shankar langati- 9972150378

Kombli- 9845890411Kallappa neginal (bagewadi)- 9980634062

Benefit sharing amount deposited

Contributions from National & International Organizations

National Gene FundSection 45 of the PPV&FR Act, 2001

In Flow

Reimbursement of compensation

Supporting conservation

Reimbursement of Benefit shares

Out Flow

Annual Fee

National Gene FundConstituted by the

Government of India

Compensation amount deposited

National Gene Fund established on 26 March 2007

For supporting the conservation and sustainable

use of genetic resources including in-situ and ex-situ

collections

Reward and Recognition from the Gene Fund Rules, 2012 - Section 39 (1) (iii) (Conferred Annually)

Reward: Maximum of ten rewards to farmers consisting of citation, memento and cash of Rupees one lakh each.Recognition: Maximum of twenty recognitions to farmers.

Maximum five awards consisting of a citation, memento and cash of Rupees Ten lakh each

Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards - Rule 70 (2) a (Conferred Annually)

Awards / Reward / Recognition Awarded Since

Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards 10 2009-10

Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Reward 10 2012

Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Recognition 15 2012Plant Genome Saviour Recognition Certificates (prior to initiation of PGSCA)

16 2007-08 to 2010-11

Home gardensSmaller scale

generally more speciesDiverse

Mainly medicinal, flavouring, or vegetable spp.Eg. Chelsea Physic Garden, London

Community Seed Banks (CSBs)

• Farmers can be also organized as so-called ‘community gene banks’, whereby leader custodian farmers maintain the diversity on behalf of all others members (Ramprasad, 2002). • Some of these community-based approaches are further structured

and include multiple objectives in their work. ‘gene-seed-grain’ banks being practised in some regions of India

(MSSRF, 2010).Community seed bank (CSB) at Udaipur, Rajasthan

Establishment, operation and management of community seed banks

(Malik et al., 2013)

Scientific management of CSBs1. Maintenance of seed purity at farmers field and at CSBs Precautions at farmers field(a) Maintaining isolation(b) Rouging Precautions at seed banks(a) Physical purity(b) Freedom from weed seeds2. Seed handling, cleaning and grading(b) Cleaning(b) Grading3. Seed storage procedures for CSBs(c) Natural drying(b) Artificial drying(c) Seed processing(d) Seed storage4. Treatment of seeds and storage containers5. Monitoring seed quality and health6. Monitoring seed germination, viability and vigour before seed distribution

Community Seed Banks at Udaipur

(Malik et al., 2013)Locations of 15 Community Seed Banks in 3 Blocks of District Udaipur

Community Seed Bank at Udaipur

Visit of farmers to gene bank at MPUAT, Udaipur

CSB awareness camp at village level in Udaipur district

Ex-situ conservation

Ex-situ conservation means literally, "off-site conservation".

It is the process of protecting an endangered species of plant or animal outside of its natural habitat.

For example, by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat  and placing it in a new location, which may be a wild area or within the care of humans.

What is the difference between In-situ and Ex-situ conservation?

In-situ Ex-situdone in the natural habitats of the biodiversity

components done outside of their natural habitats.

more dynamic more static

involves designation, management, and monitoring of target taxa in their natural habitats

involves sampling, transfer, and storage of target taxa from their natural habitats.

populations remain within the ecosystem involving the process of evolution

they are not involving the natural evolution process.

time consuming but more sustainable aimed to use in conserving genetic components, in immediate occasions.

Ex situ conservation can be carried out using several methods

- Seed gene bank

- In vitro storage

- DNA storage

- Pollen storage

- Field gene bank - Botanical gardens

• A seed bank stores seeds as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed. It is a type of gene bank.• Storing seeds also guards against catastrophic events like natural disasters,

outbreaks of disease, or war. Unlike seed libraries or seed swaps that encourage frequent reuse and sharing of seeds, seed banks are not typically open to the public.

• A seed bank is a facility used to store seeds of various crops and wild plants, in an effort to maintain biodiversity. • These structures can be found scattered all over the world, established by

governments and organizations concerned about crop diversity. • The Global Crop Diversity Trust proposed in 2007 that an Arctic seed bank be established, to preserve seeds of vital crops in safe bunker conditions in the event of catastrophic events.

Seed conservation- Why do we have Seed Banks?

• The storage of material in the form of seeds is one of the most widespread and valuable ex situ approaches to conservation. • Seed banking has considerable advantages over other methods of ex

situ conservation such as ease of storage, economy of space, relatively low labour demands and consequently, the capacity to maintain large samples at an economically viable cost.

Why Store Seeds and Not Whole Plants?

• Seeds are a convenient means of long term storage of genetic diversity, as the samples are small in size, are easily handled, require low maintenance and frequently remain viable for long periods.• In general, conditions of low temperature and desiccation allow seeds to

maintain viability, in many cases indefinitely. • Seed banks take up little space, but can be expensive to run, both

because of the need to maintain low temperatures and the necessity for germination tests, growth trials and regeneration. They are not suitable for species with recalcitrant seeds.

There are however, certain limitations in the conservation of seeds

i. Viability of seeds is reduced or lost with passage of time.ii. Seeds are susceptible to insect or pathogen attack, often leading to their destruction.iii. This approach is exclusively confined to seed propagating plants, and therefore it is of no use for vegetatively propagated plants e.g. potato, Ipomoea, Dioscorea.iv. It is difficult to maintain clones through seed conservation.Certain seeds are heterogeneous and therefore, are not suitable for true genotype maintenance.

In vitro methods for germplasm conservation In vitro methods employing shoots, meristems and embryos are ideally suited for the conservation of germplasm of vegetatively propagated plants. The plants with recalcitrant seeds and genetically engineered materials can also be preserved by this in vitro approach.

There are several advantages associated with in vitro germplasm conservation

i. Large quantities of materials can be preserved in small space.ii. The germplasm preserved can be maintained in an environment, free from pathogens.iii. It can be protected against the nature’s hazards.iv. From the germplasm stock, large number of plants can be obtained whenever needed.v. Obstacles for their transport through national and international borders are minimal.

There are mainly three approaches for the in vitro conservation of germplasm

• 1. Cryopreservation (freeze-preservation)• 2. Cold storage• 3. Low-pressure and low-oxygen storage

Cryopreservation

Cryopreservation (Greek, krayos-frost) literally means preservation in the frozen state. The principle involved in cryopreservation is to bring the plant cell and tissue cultures to a zero metabolism or non-dividing state by reducing the temperature in the presence of cryoprotectants.

Cryopreservation broadly means the storage of germplasm at very low temperatures

i. Over solid carbon dioxide (at -79°C)ii. Low temperature deep freezers (at -80°C)iii. In vapour phase nitrogen (at -150°C)iv. In liquid nitrogen (at -196°C)

In fact, cryopreservation has been successfully applied for germplasm conservation of a wide range of plant species e.g. rice, wheat, peanut, cassava, sugarcane, strawberry, coconut. Several plants can be regenerated from cells, meristems and embryos stored in cryopreservation.

Freezing The sensitivity of the cells to low temperature is variable and largely depends on the plant species.

Four different types of freezing methods are used:1. Slow-freezing method (suspension cultures)2. Rapid freezing method (shoot tips and somatic embryos)3. Stepwise freezing method (suspension cultures, shoot apices and buds)4. Dry freezing method

Cold storage basically involves germplasm conservation at a low and non-freezing temperatures (1-9°C)

The growth of the plant material is slowed down in cold storage in contrast to complete stoppage in cryopreservation.

Hence, cold storage is regarded as a slow growth germplasm conservation method.

The major advantage of this approach is that the plant material (cells/tissues) is not subjected to cryogenic injuries.

Low-Pressure and Low-Oxygen Storage:As alternatives to cryopreservation and cold storage, low-pressure storage (LPS) and low-oxygen storage (LOS) have been developed for germplasm conservation.

normal atmo-spheric storage

low pressure storage

low oxygen storage

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• In low-pressure storage, the atmospheric pressure surrounding the plant material is reduced. This results in a partial decrease of the pressure exerted by the gases around the germplasm.• The lowered partial pressure reduces the in vitro growth of plants (of organized or

unorganized tissues). Low-pressure storage systems are useful for short-term and long-term storage of plant materials.• The short-term storage is particularly useful to increase the shelf life of many plant

materials e.g. fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, plant cuttings. The germplasm grown in cultures can be stored for long term under low pressure. • Besides germplasm preservation, LPS reduces the activity of pathogenic organisms and

inhibits spore germination in the plant culture systems.

Low-Oxygen Storage (LOS)

• In the low-oxygen storage, the oxygen concentration is reduced, but the atmospheric pressure is maintained by the addition of inert gases (particularly nitrogen). • The partial pressure of oxygen below 50 mm Hg reduces plant tissue

growth (organized or unorganized tissue). This is due to the fact that with reduced availability of O2, the production of CO2 is low. • As a consequence, the photosynthetic activity is reduced, thereby

inhibiting the plant tissue growth and dimension.

Other biotechnological approaches in plant genetic resources conservation

A number of biotechnological approaches are being used for the conservation and improvement of plant species for desired traits and each of them has some

advantages and disadvantages. Some important techniques which have great potential in the determination of genetic diversity have been used in many plant

species including rare and endangered species.

(Salim et al., 2012)

1. Molecular marker technologyI. Biochemical markerII. Phytochemical markersIII. DNA based markers Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) Simple sequence repeat (SSR) Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) Selective amplification of microsatellite polymorphic loci (SAMPL) Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Expressed sequence tagged (EST) Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS)

2. Additional markers Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences Chloroplast spacer sequences DNA microarray3. Plant DNA bank

Table. List of several micropropagated medicinally important plants.

(Malabika and Mohammad, 2014)

Table. List of endangered and threatened plants regenerated via somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis by the process of plant tissue culture.

(Malabika and Mohammad, 2014)

How are Botanic Gardens Involved?

• Several botanic gardens have developed the capacity to store isolated embryos, minute seeds and tissues under conditions of cryopreservation, maintaining samples in liquid nitrogen at temperatures of –196°C• Such techniques offer great potential for the maintenance and

conservation of biodiversity, particularly plant species that cannot be stored by conventional means

Gene bank procedures• Collecting• Registration• Sample processing• Germplasm testing

• Viability testing• Health diagnosis• Transgene detection• Monitoring

• Conservation• Seed bank• Field bank• In vitro bank• Cryo bank• Vegetative bank• DNA bank

• Characterization• Regeneration• Distribution• Safety duplication• Equipment/supplies

Status of availability and safety duplication of CGIAR genebanks across years.

availability safety dulpication seed safety duplication clonal0

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africa rice CIAT CIMMYT MAIZE

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NBPGR –A nodal agency for conservation of seeds and other propagules in India.

• NBPGR and its ten regional stations in different agro climatic zones of the country effectively support the germplasm collection, conservation and evaluation activities of their respective regions.• Integrated conservation approach is carried out by a network of more

than 50 National Active Germplasm Sites(NAGS) of the National Agricultural Research System spread throughout the country

Mandate

To act as nodal institute at national level for acquisition and management of indigenous and exotic plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, and to carry out related research and human resource development, for sustainable growth of agriculture.

Objectives of NBPGR

• To plan, organize, conduct and coordinate exploration and collection of indigenous and exotic plant genetic resources.

• To undertake introduction, exchange and quarantine of plant genetic resources.• To characterize, evaluate, document and conserve crop genetic resources and promote their use, in

collaboration with other national organizations.• To develop information network on plant genetic resources.• To conduct research, undertake teaching and training, develop guidelines and create public

awareness on plant genetic resources.

• The NAGS centres are responsible for crop specific collection, multiplication, evaluation, maintainance and conservation of active collections and are distributing germplasm based on indenters requests routed through NBPGR.

• Seed gene bank at NBPGR has capacity to store 0.75 million accessions, making India third largest gene bank after US and China.

Ongoing Research Activities Supported by IPGRI

• Ultra-dry Seed Storage• Sun-drying: an Alternative Way to Lower Seed Moisture Content• Cryopreservation: a Potential Alternative for Conserving Seed of

"Problem" Species• Germplasm Health: a Vital ConsiderationOver the years, the Institute has developed strong collaborative partnerships with several research centres including the Seed Laboratory of the University of Reading (U.K.), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (U.K.), the Boyce Thompson Institute (U.S.A.), Cornell University (U.S.A.), the National Seed Science Laboratory at Fort Collins (U.S.A.), the University of Wageningen (The Netherlands) and the Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China).

15 Seed Saving Initiatives Protecting Biodiversity for Future Generations

1. AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center2. Camino Verde3. Great Lakes Bioneers Chicago (GLBC) Seed Saving Initiative4. Hawai’s Public Seed Initiative 5. International Center for Tropical Agriculture6. Louisiana Native Plant Initiative7. Man and the Biosphere Programme

8. Millennium Seed Bank Partnership9. Native Seed / SEARCH 10. Navdanya 11. New York City Native Plant Conservation Initiative 12. The NSW Seed bank13. Seed Savers Exchange 14. Slow Food International15. Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Did you know!!!...• There are botanic gardens and arboreta in 148 countries worldwide and they

maintain more than 4 million living plant collections.• Amongst their collections are representatives of more than 100,000 species,

almost one third of the known vascular plant species of the world.• There are a total of 142 million herbarium specimens in botanic garden herbaria

and 6.13 million accessions in their living collections.• Over 500 botanic gardens occur in Western Europe, more than 350 in North

America and over 200 in East and Southeast Asia, of which the majority are in China. Most of the southern Asian botanic gardens are to be found in India.

The Svalbard global seed vault: 'Doomsday Seed Vault'

The Global Crop Diversity Trust proposed in 2007 that an Arctic seed bank be established, to preserve seeds of vital crops in safe bunker conditions in the case of catastrophic events.

• Svalbard global seed vault is a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near Longyearbyen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) from the North Pole.

• Conservationist Cary Fowler, in association with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR),started the vault to preserve a wide variety of plant seeds.

• It is built right into a sandstone mountain and covered in a thick layer of permafrost, are kept at an icy minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius).

Contains global accessions

Soil Seed Bank• Soil seed bank is a natural storage of viable seeds (often dormant) within

the soil of most ecosystems.• Soil seed bank is generally been defined as the amount of viable seeds

present in the soil of defined area (Zhang zhiquan,1996 ).• The study of soil seed bank started in 1859 when Charles Darwin observed

the emergence of seedlings using soil samples from the bottom of a lake.• Important fields in soil seed banks are Weed seed bank Forest regeneration and Restoration ecology

Environmental significance:

Play an important role in the natural environment of many ecosystems. Rapid re-vegetation of sites disturbed by wildfire, catastrophic

weather, agricultural operations, and timber harvesting. Forest ecosystems and wetlands contain a number of specialized plant

species forming persistent soil seed bank.

A knowledge of the soil seed bank is of great value in the agriculture, forestry, conservation management and vegetation of mining

wastelands ( Zhang zhiquan,)

Soil diaspore bank and Soil bud bank:

• The term soil diaspore bank can be used to include non-flowering plants such as ferns and bryophytes• Many plants have vegetative propagules to facilitate forming new

plants, migration into new ground, or reestablishment after being top-killed. These propagules are collectively called as the soil bud bank, which includes dormant and adventitious buds on stolons, rhizomes and, roots.

Similarity between the seed bank and the aboveground vegetation species composition

(Guillaume et al., 2004)Forest of Le Nouvion, Northern France

In SC (Selective cutting system), pre-commercial thinning treatments are conducted every 4 years (removal of almost all shrubs and unsuitable trees at 23m3 per ha) and commercial fellings every 8 years (selective cutting of mature trees at 10m3 per ha).

In CWS(Coppice-With-oak Standards), commercial felling usually occurs every 30 years, removing the whole coppice timber and about three quarters of the standards (i.e., from 150 to 250m3 per ha).

Seed security for Food security