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

Ex situ genetic resources conservation:
GGB safely conserves in its facilities seeds of approximately 7000 accessions belonging to 64 genera and
162 species of crop plants or economic plants in general that have "orthodox" seeds.
The collection is quite representative of the genetic diversity of the country as regards the germplasm
of cereals, beets, tobacco, fodder crops and pulses, since these crops had received priority in the
collections according to the mandate by FAO and IBPGR. On the other hand it is considered rather poor
as regards wild and cultivated vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants, ornamental plants etc.
At present, a first rough exploration of almost all the country has been completed. The plans for the
immediate future put emphasis on the completion of the existing gaps of the collection (vegetables etc.)
and on detailed explorations and germplasm collections in already identified areas of high species
richness and germplasm diversity.
The collected germplasm is maintained in our Base Collection under conditions of long term storage (-
20 o C temperature and waterproof seed packaging) as well as in our Active or working Collection under
conditions of medium-term storage (O -5 o C temperature and 20-30% relative humidity of air).
Clonal material (Fruit trees, Grapevine) is maintained in field collections and so does most of the
germplasm of medicinal and Aromatic Plants.
So, Pomology Institute in Naoussa has a field collection of 176 indigenous Prunus spp clones. Grapevine
Institute in Athens maintains an almost complete collection of greek grapevine clones (567). The above
grapevine collection is duplicated in the Agricultural Research Centre of Makedonia and Thraki, where
a large field collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants also exists at its respective department.
Among the perspectives and priorities of the Greek Gene Bank are the development of a
cryopreservation ( preservation in liquid Nitrogen ) and a tissue culture ( preservation in minimum
growth media) units for effective and efficient clonal germplasm storage.
In Situ and on Farm conservation
In situ protection and conservation of plant genetic resources is applied on a limited scale by the Institute
of Forage Crops and Pulses and covers certain forage species.
GGB has identified, through its numerous explorations and collecting expeditions, certain areas rich in
indigenous wild relatives of crop plants which merit particular care and protection.
Greece is extremely rich in such areas. The most interesting of them for Genetic Resources in situ
conservation have been proposed for protective interventions and appear in Map 1 marked by circles.
a) The foothills near Mesti
in Rodopi prefecture of Thraki region. Rich in cereal germplasm, progenitors of the cultivated
wheat (Triticum boeoticum, Aegilops speltoides etc.).
b) The foothills near Anavra
in Fthiotis prefecture, central Greece. Also rich in cereal germplasm (Triticum boeoticum,
Haynaldia, Aegilops etc.).