Plant Genetic Resource Management and Policy
Summary
Plant genetic resources (PGR) encompass the hereditary material of crop species and their wild relatives that underpin food security, nutrition and agricultural sustainability. Management strategies combine in situ conservation—maintaining diversity within natural and agroecosystems—and ex situ conservation in genebanks, which safeguard seed collections, living plants and tissue cultures. Key international agreements, notably the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, establish access and benefit-sharing (ABS) mechanisms and a multilateral system to facilitate germplasm exchange while recognising national sovereignty. Policies now address not only physical germplasm transfers but also governance of digital sequence information, balancing open science with equitable benefit-sharing. Rapid advances in molecular characterisation, informatics platforms and collaborative networks are enhancing the discovery and utilisation of underexploited landraces and crop wild relatives. Effective policy must navigate complex regulatory requirements, emerging technologies and the urgent need to conserve genetic diversity for resilience to climate change, pests and diseases.
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Plant Genetic Resource Management and Policy publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in plant genetic resource management and policy across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Germplasm: Genetic material of plants that carries heredity information and is used for breeding and conservation.
Genebank: Facility that conserves living plant genetic resources ex situ, including seed banks, field collections and in vitro repositories.
Accession: Distinct sample of plant genetic material maintained in a genebank, representing a unique genotype or population.
Ex situ conservation: Preservation of plant genetic diversity outside natural habitats, typically in genebanks or living collections.
Access and benefit-sharing (ABS): Legal framework ensuring equitable sharing of benefits arising from use of genetic resources among providers and users.
Multilateral system: Mechanism under the International Treaty on PGRFA that facilitates standardised exchange of key crop germplasm among signatory parties.
References
- Collaboration between Private and Public Genebanks in Conserving and Using Plant Genetic Resources. Plants (2024).
- Developing country demand for crop germplasm conserved by the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System. CABI Agriculture and Bioscience (2022).
- Germplasm exchange is critical to conservation of biodiversity and global food security. Agronomy Journal (2021).
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