Plant Genetic resources: Advancing conservation and use through Biotechnology ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources New Delhi Jyoti Kumari

Plant Genetic Resources Plant genetic resources – Genotypes of particular species, collected from different sources and geographical origins, for use in plant breeding to develop new cultivars Germplasm of a crop may be defined as – The sum total of hereditary material i.e. all the alleles of various genes, present in a crop species and its wild relatives Plant Genetic Resources

Basic raw material for genetic improvement including designer species Reservoir of useful genes Critical component for food, nutrition, environmental and household security Global vs. Indian scenario Importance  One of the 12 world mega biodiversity centers and 17 mega diverse nations  One of the 8 centers of origin of crop plants  Three of the 34 Hot Spots of Biodiversity- Himalayas, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats India: facts

Role of Genetic Resources in Increasing Food Production

NETWORK COLLABORATORS NBPGR and its 10 Regional Stations 59 National Active Germplasm Sites (NAGS) comprising ICAR Institutes, Project Directorates, NRCs, AICRPs, SAUs Other National Stakeholders International Collaborators NBPGR (The Nodal Institute) Plant Genetic Resources Management System Second largest base collection in NGB (~0. 4 m accessions of over 1300 crop species)

PGR management activities

GENETIC DIVERSITY COLLECTED Genetic Variability Trait Specific Wild Relatives

CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION Germplasm characterized/evaluated: 1,90,000 Biochemical evaluation: 10,000 Samples given to researchers for utilization: 3, 75,000 Field days ~3,000 Promising genetic stocks Multi-location/Collaborative evaluation- 10 crops Minimal Descriptor list published 43 field crops and 148 Hort. crops Catalogue published 87 catalogues in 45 crops Core sets Sesame, brinjal, okra, mungbean, wheat and chickpea

To screen for traits related to biotic stress and abiotic stresses The facility is being created to cater to the researchers of NARS It will add value to the genetic resources and hence increase their utilization particularly to address the issues emerging from climate change Phenotyping and Agricultural Phenomics

PGR USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF VARIETIES Agricultural Crops : 3300 Horticultural Crops :1407

Core collections Method A core collection is a subsample of a larger germplasm collection that contains, with a minimum of repetitiveness, the maximum possible genetic diversity of a species Provide an effective approach to improved the access to a diverse genepool particularly to that comprise large genebank collections Core Collection 5% - 10% Main Collection 1000s accs

Exploration: An alternative approach - FIGS Focused Focused Identification of Identification of Germplasm Germplasm Strategy Strategy Underlying concept Distribution of genetic variation is a function of the relationship between genotype, environment and conscious or un-conscious selection - evolutionary processes.

Pre-breeding  Pre-breeding is the step before practical breeding.  Its aim is “To introduce new desirable traits/genes into an adapted genetic background. This will broaden the genetic base in a breeding material in pace with environmental changes.”  A vital contribution of pre-breeding is increasing the total genetic diversity in crops and finding specific genes and traits.  It is vital link between conservation of PGR in gene bank collections and utilisation of these resources in agriculture and horticulture.

Application of Biotech Tools Exploration & Collection: Tissue culture, Molecular markers Conservation: Molecular markers, Tissue culture and cryo-preservation Genomic resources: Gene clonong, genetic engineering, molecular markers Quarantine: Molecular markers for pathogen detection Utilization of germplasm- marker techniques, embryo rescue (prebreeding), cloning

PGR Management through Molecular Markers Isozyme markers RFLP RAPD ISSR AFLP Microsatellite markers Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) Sequence based markers

Use of Molecular Markers in PGR Management Diversity analysis of Germplasm  Phylogenetic relationship  Development of core collection  Gene flow study DNA Fingerprinting  Germplasm identification  Genetic purity/ Genetic stability  Identification of duplicates Gene discovery  Association mapping  Allele mining Trait specific germplasm  Identification and Validation

20 DNA FINGERPRINTING DNA fingerprinting protocols have been developed using STMS, AFLP, ISSR, RAPD and SRAP techniques in 34 crops and 2215 cultivars have been fingerprinted. Specific molecular markers for seed purity testing of commercial hybrids of cotton, pearl millet and sorghum and identification of citrus rootstocks developed

Genetic resources are basic to gene discovery and their use in crop improvement including transgenic development TILLING & ECOTILLING Search for Gene is a Continuous Process Gene prospecting and Allele mining

Indian Rice Germplasm as Source of Important Genes (Identified through SNPs) TraitSourceGene Submergence tolerance FR-13 Sub 1 Salt tolerance Pokkali Nona Bokra SaltolSKC1 Drought tolerane Nagina-22 Kala Keri -(gene not characterized) BLB resistance O. Longistaminata Bhog Jeera 1 Xa 21 Xa 13 BPH resistance O. nivara -

It will comprise of genomic DNA including DNA of rare and endangered species, genomic & cDNA libraries, BAC libraries, gene constructs and promoters etc. A single-window system for sharing genomic resources Efficient utilization of genomic resources A mechanism to check biopiracy National Genomic Resource Repository

25 Conclusion Genetic resource is a gold mine and we have to make substantial long term investment for exploiting its full potential Without an intelligent and judicious use of PGR it will be difficult to achieve sustainable advances in agricultural production in vitro culture and cryopreservation – important tools to collect and conserve genetic resources in difficult crops Molecular markers techniques – strong tool for PGR management in conservation, collection, utilization of PGR

"Every time we lose a species we break a life chain which has evolved over 3.5 billion years," -- Jeffrey McNeely, IUCN Chief Scientist.

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