Integration of Conservation Strategies of Plant Genetic ... - Genres

5.5. finalized projects in agriculture
5.6. national coordination
5.7. germnet project
6. Conclusions
1. Introduction
The Mediterranean region is an important centre of origin of several cultivated species. It is an area
where in the past a lot of varieties and different genic combinations arose, thanks to natural phenomena
such as mutations, spontaneous hybridizations and polyploidy ( Scarascia Mugnozza, 1972 ).
Unfortunately, most of this genetic diversity, accumulated through centuries, has been lost through the
well known phenomenon of genetic erosion, which is due to several reasons but mostly to rapid
spreading of few, new and modern varieties. Some examples may help in understanding the magnitude
of the problem and the several actions undertaken by scientists, governments, national and international
organizations in order to stop or to reduce genetic erosion.
1.1 Cereals
In the case of cereals and in particular of wheats, in Sicily, at the beginning of the century, some
researchers (De Cillis, 1927) listed as many as 289 wheat varieties; later on ( De Cillis, 1942 ) only 45
varieties were classified; more recently ( Perrino and Martignano, 1973; Perrino and Hammer, 1983 )
only 32 varieties, out of the previous 45, were recognized. If all the peninsula of Italy is considered more
than 400 wheat varieties were cultivated before and soon after the second World War ( De Cillis, 1927;
Ciferri and Bonvicini, 1959-1960 ). In the last twenty years, research carried out for collecting and
preserving these old varieties have shown that only very few ( 1 - 2 % ) could be found ( Perrino, 1988,
1992a ). On the other hand the number of new, or relatively new, varieties is not only lower, about 200,
but it is hard to believe that their genetic base and genetic distances are as large as those of the old ones.
However, based on these results and other considerations, the loss of genetic diversity in wheat
cultivation has been estimated to be of at least 90 % ( Perrino, 1992b ). Some questions are still on foot.
How much of this 90% is really lost? How much of it has been transferred into modern varieties? How
much of it was collected by previous explorers and actually preserved in gene banks or elsewhere? How
much of that genetic diversity is present in the actual world collections stored in Leningrad, Fort Collins,
Kyoto and Bari? No one can tell us if all of those old varieties collected, maintained for decades and
studied by De Cillis, Ciferri, Bonvicini and others, were duplicated and included in the above mentioned
world collections or lost for ever. For sure, some of those varieties were used by Italian and foreign
breeders, so that some genes were saved and are still working in some new varieties in Italy and
throughout the world. But, are they the most important genes? Are they enough for the agriculture of
today and tomorrow? Whatever are or will be the answers, it is almost sure that scientists were right in
starting preservation activities.
1.2 Vegetable crops
In the case of vegetable crops the phenomenon of genetic erosion seems to have been less severe and
especially for those not much modified from their wild forms. This may be the case of Taraxacum
officinale, Foeniculum officinale, etc. It seems that low genetic erosion may have occurred for primitive