Canada’s national genebank for plants, officially known as Plant Gene Resources of Canada (PGRC), has turned 50.
It has more than 115,000 samples from around the world, and it responds to about 5,000 requests for genetic materials every year.
We need PGRC’s important work to preserve the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and their wild relatives to support plant breeding and conduct research and education.
“Having the genetic traits for disease resistance available is one of the major contributions of genebanks around the world, including PGRC. In addition, the need to rely more on locally adapted crops in the future may be supported by genetic diversity in the genebank collections,” said Dr. Axel Diederichsen, Curator, Plant Gene Resources of Canada
There are also materials at the Canadian Clonal Genebank in Harrow, Ontario, which focuses on fruit crops, and Canadian Potato Gene Resources in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The PGRC also researches the best way to store seeds and germplasm.
