**COLLECTIONS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH**

**[Introduction]{.underline}**

1\. For the purposes of this paper we take 'collections in agriculture'
to mean specimens/accessions which fall into either the animal or plant
domains, but exclude human, microbe and mycology material. Such material
is usually held *ex situ* but can also cover *in situ* material (wild
landraces, either animal or plant). Many collections relevant to
agriculture are likely to be in the commercial/private sector; this
paper is primarily concerned with collections in the 'public domain',
whether or not directly managed by public authorities.

2\. We define 'agriculture' as providing food for direct human
consumption; processing for human consumption; fodder for animal
rearing; biological material for energy; plants and animals for breeding
and research; material for such uses as thatching, pharmaceutics, but
excluding forestry products.

3\. The United Kingdom occupies a relatively small land area in North
Western Europe where the climate is temperate. Compared to the land
masses occupied by the United States, Canada and, to a lesser extent,
France, the diversity and range of food and agriculture crops that can
be commercially exploited is relatively small. However, yields can be
high and crop failure due to climatic extremes and disease is not
generally a major feature. This is reflected in genetic resource
collections, where the emphasis is on within varietals diversity of a
relatively limited range of genera, rather than more limited diversity
of a greater range of food crops, fodder and animals, and underscores
the role that UK collections have in cooperative programmes and the
exchange of material internationally.

**[Background]{.underline}**

4\. In the United Kingdom national policy for the conservation and
sustainable use of Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (GRFA) is
developed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra) (for England and Wales) and the devolved administrations of the
Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) and
the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland)
(DARDNI). A number of stakeholders and other organisations also have an
important role to play in GRFA policy development (see paras 8-10
below).

**[The Role of Central Government]{.underline}**

5\. As in most countries, investment in research and development of
depleting GRFA does not necessarily make strong economic or commercial
sense for the private sector to address, though much can depend on the
'the time horizon' of the individual firm. Nevertheless, the Government
accepts that investment in genetic resources improvements produces
benefits to the economy and the environment beyond those generated
solely by commercial considerations. It accepts that it is in the public
interest to maintain, conserve and characterise genetic resources as an
insurance policy against irreversible and irretrievable loss. Moreover,
research and development into plant genetic resources has a role to play
in reducing the carbon footprint of food and fodder production over and
above that which might be achieved through economic and commercial
forces alone.

6\. The maintenance of material in *ex-situ* collections such as the
Millennium Seed Bank (MSB), the Vegetable Gene Bank (VGB) and the
National Fruit Collections (NFC) (see paras 11 *et seq*) are prime
examples of the scientific and technical preservation for the use of
future generations. The actual benefit flow of these accessions is
largely currently unknown: however, given the range of problems that the
world increasingly faces there can be no doubt of the potential value of
these national collections in contributing to solutions.

7\. Government support therefore aims:

-   to ensure the maintenance of GRFA collections to approved standards;

-   to establish and maintain databases for GRFA collections;

-   to assist with the characterisation of GRFA collections;

-   to promote the acquisition and multiplication of new genetic
    material;

-   to facilitate the dissemination of information and material related
    to this work; and

-   to promote scientific collaboration that will explore and develop
    alternative and innovative methods to characterise and conserve
    GRFA.

**[Policy development]{.underline}**

8\. The conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources
contributes directly to the Government's objectives of a competitive
food supply chain, diverse and adaptable farming and sustainable
management of natural resources, eco-systems and, for example, the long
term maintenance and improvement of soil and water quality.

9\. National policy on GRFA is developed in conjunction with
stakeholders including Government agencies, research institutes, NGOs
and industry. To facilitate this process the Government directly
supports a range of resources including a number of national gene banks
collections, expert Advisory Committees and a web based internet portal
which provides a single point for the interrogation of genetic material
databases.

10\. The Wilding Report of 2003
(<http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/geneticresources/grfareport.pdf>)
highlighted the need for a more coherent approach to genetic resource
policy, management of collections, and to involve commercial interests
by raising awareness of the potential of collections to address current
and emerging needs at both the national and international levels, whilst
emphasising the responsibilities that flow from the legitimate
exploitation of genetic resources. The recommendations of Wilding were
accepted by the Government as an important vehicle to give practical
effect to the United Kingdom's international commitments, and to
encourage the practical use of the rich and diverse collections of
genetic material held nationally.

**[The National Gene Banks]{.underline}**

11\. The national gene bank collections hold *ex situ* collections of
crop genetic resources that are both nationally and internationally
important, including potatoes, cereals, vegetables, top fruit, soft
fruit, peas, hops, grasses and forages. UK *ex situ* plant genetic
resource collections are maintained by a wide range of institutions on a
number of sites. These are used to address problems of emerging pests
and diseases -- likely to become more prevalent with global warming --
and the need for more environmentally friendly cultivation techniques.
The Government directly supports the following national gene bank
collections:

**The Vegetable Gene Bank (University of Warwick)**

12\. The VGB houses collections of *Allium, Brassica, Daucus, Lactuca,
Raphanus,* and some minor vegetables and their wild relatives. The VGB
has a broad remit for the collection, conservation, characterization,
documentation and research study of a range of these collections.

**Pea Gene Bank (John Innes Institute at Norwich)**

13\. The Institute is custodian of a number of key germplasm collections
which serve academic, industrial and non-industrial groups both within
the UK and internationally. They are the subject of research in their
own right as well as being involved in a range of collaborative
programmes.

**The National Fruit Collections (Brogdale)**

14\. The Collections comprise trees of scions and rootstocks of *Malus,
Pyrus, Prunus, Cydonia, Mespilus* and *Corylus*, bushes of *Ribes* and
*Vaccinium* and vines of *Vitis*. The apple varieties maintained at
Brogdale form the largest collection of *Malus* germplasm on a single
site in the world.

Other collections of note include:

**The Millennium Seed Bank (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)**

15\. The Millennium Seed Bank Project situated at Kew's Wakehurst Place
site to the south of London, is an international collaborative plant
conservation initiative. It was conceived after the first Earth Summit
in Rio in 1992 and is broadly based on the three central tenets of the
Convention of Biological Diversity: conservation, sustainable use and
equitable sharing of the benefits of genetic resources. The MSB is the
largest wild seed bank in the world, with partners in 50 countries, and
with over 18,000 wild plant species conserved not only in the MSB but
duplicated in partner seed banks worldwide.

16\. The MSB aims to safeguard at least 10% of the world's flowering
plants, principally from arid lands and threatened habitats, against
extinction by the year 2010. It has already successfully secured the
future of virtually all the UK\'s native flowering plants through
research and conservation. Looking to 2020, the MSB has ambitious though
realistic plans to conserve a further 15% of world's plant genera, with
the emphasis on those that are under threat or are likely to become
threatened, particularly as a consequence of global warming. 22nd May
this year saw the one billionth seed deposited at the MSB.

17\. Whilst only a relatively small proportion of this material is of
direct food and agriculture relevance, with Kew's expertise in
eco-systems and the challenges of climate change, the potential for more
of this material to help address emerging problems of crop production
particularly at the global level, should not be under-estimated. The MSB
is financed until 2010 through grants from the Millennium Lottery fund
and by major sponsorship, in particular by the Wellcome Foundation.
Government support is indirect through its annual grant in aid to the
Royal Botanic Gardens.

**The Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (Aberystwyth)**

18\. The Genetic Resources Unit at IGER is primarily concerned with the
collection, storage, characterisation and documentation of temperate
forage grasses and legumes. Not only are these important as a source of
animal feed, but also in the maintenance and regeneration of soil
quality.

**Garden Organic (Ryton)**

19\. Garden Organic's Heritage Seed Library conserves and makes
available vegetable varieties that are not otherwise widely grown. It
does not however receive direct public funding, but is a registered
charity with a lively membership. Being close to the UK's midland
conurbation centred on Birmingham it is also an important educational
resource for primary and secondary schools.

**[The UKGRFA Internet Portal]{.underline}**

20\. To facilitate *in-situ* and *ex-situ* research Defra has recently
developed and supports the UKGRFA Internet Portal
([http://grfa.org.uk](http://www.grfa.org.uk/)). This gateway is a major
step towards providing a single access point to all known information
and technical data on the UK\'s farmed species. It is now possible to
identify sources of genetic material located in UK gene banks.

21\. The Portal supports a strategic approach to the conservation and
sustainable use of GRFA through access to baseline information on UK
GRFA. This was not possible before the Portal went live in 2006.
Consideration is being given to further developing the Portal so that it
links with the European Plant Genetic Resources Search Catalogue Portal
(EURISCO). This will enable more detailed and advanced interrogation of
other European National PGR Inventories and will greatly enhance the
quality of research and development into genetic resources.

**[Government advisory committees]{.underline}**

22\. Defra has a close contact with all the major relevant stakeholders
through the provision of funds and dialogue designed to maximise the
value of publicly financed plant and animal collections. The United
Kingdom Plant Genetic Resources Group (UKPGRG) and the National Fruit
Collections Advisory Committee (NFCAC) provide advice and support to the
Government on technical and policy matters nationally and on the UK\'s
international role in the area of plant genetic resources and *ex-situ*
collections.

**UKPRG Group**

23\. The Group serves as the technical forum for *ex-situ* plant genetic
resources in the UK (website:<http://ukpgrg.org/>). The broad membership
includes both curators of plant genetic resource centres and
representatives from non-governmental organisation and commercial plant
breeding sectors. Botanic gardens, the Forestry Commission and statutory
collections are also represented as are institutions involved in
training managers, curators and scientists in plant genetic resources.

24\. The Group meets formally at least twice a year, but regularly
exchanges information through email circulation as and when necessary
and participation in technical away days, which gives members the
opportunity to look at unfamiliar areas of work. It is currently giving
technical expertise to enable the UK to fully meet its commitments under
the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture (see paragraph 32 below). Defra provides full secretariat
support to the Group.

**National Fruit Collection Advisory Committee**

25\. The NFCAC is an independent advisory committee appointed by Defra's
Chief Scientific Adviser to advise primarily on the well-being and
exploitation of the NFC as a genetic resource and on the safekeeping of
its associated archives. It comprises end users, growers, nursery
owners, the scientific community as well as specialist fruit
consultants. Its current Chair recently retired as the manager of the
Millennium Seed Bank.

**[The wider national context]{.underline}**

26\. Work on the conservation and sustainable use of genetic material
also contributes to the underpinning scientific resources for a number
of Government sponsored national science activities. These include
programmes of research for Farming and Food such as: Sustainable Water
Management; Resource Efficient and Resilient Food Chain; Sustainable
Farming and Biodiversity; Agriculture and Climate Change (including
non-food crops). The Horizon Scanning research programme offers the
opportunity to identify emerging threats to Plant Genetic Resources.
Associated research and development also contributes to a number of
Strategic Priorities including:

> Climate Change and Energy -- by enhancing adaptive capacity to climate
> change and by encouraging biologically based renewable energy sources;
>
> Sustainable Consumption and Production -- by reducing the impact of
> the food production chain on the environment while enabling
> agriculture to remain competitive;
>
> Protecting the Countryside and Natural Resource Protection -- by
> reducing the necessity for environmentally injurious practices
> including chemical applications; and by combating erosion and soil
> depletion through agriculture techniques.

27\. Whilst for the practical purposes of conservation, maintenance and
characterisation most collections in the UK are held *ex situ*, the role
of crop wild relatives and 'living' material available *in situ* should
not be overlooked. Recently important *in situ* material has become
designated or 'held' in areas of special scientific interest (SSIs) or
similarly protected zones whether in private, state or semi-state
ownership. Whilst this affords additional protection for vulnerable
varieties, it can if not imaginatively handled, lead to some impediment
to access for the legitimate purposes of research and development.

**[The International context]{.underline}**

28\. Whilst this paper has so far been concerned with UK Government
activity at national level, the international context has always been
important and is increasingly so. Nevertheless to make a distinction
between national and international activity is to draw a line that in
reality does not exist. The conservation, characterisation and free
availability of, in particular plant genetic resources is not only a
national but an international imperative to enable breeders to respond
to changes in climate, agriculture practices, market requirements, plant
diseases and plant pests that cannot be accommodated by the available
commercial plant varieties.

29\. Furthermore, it enables the genetic resources of the globe to be
sustained for the current and future use of mankind: in the spheres of
poverty eradication; world food security; for health and
pharmaceuticals; to prevent further environmental degradation; and to
maintain eco-systems that will arrest and reverse the negative impact of
climate change and improve the lives and economic well being of the more
vulnerable.

**[Specific International Aspects]{.underline}**

30\. The UK's international involvement flows primarily from treaty
commitments, in particular the Convention on Biological Diversity
(ratified 1994) and more recently the International Treaty on Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture that the UK ratified as a
founder member in 2004. The European Cooperative Programme for Genetic
Resources (a pan European initiative of 40 plus countries, some members
of the European Community, others not) that falls under the auspices of
Biodiversity International involves a range of UK gene banks in the
public domain. The programme seeks to coordinate and rationalise
collections, promoting knowledge and availability of accessions. More
*ad hoc* arrangements within the European Community such as the
programme for Conservation, Characterisation, Collection and Utilisation
of Genetic Resources for Agriculture (Genres II), potentially involves
several UK gene banks.

**Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)**

31\. The CBD commits signatories to a whole range of requirements. The
Treaty's central aims to conserve biological diversity, to use
sustainably its components and to equitably share the benefits arising
out of the utilisation of genetic resources are all ones that gene banks
contribute to both directly and indirectly. The conservation in banks of
vulnerable seeds (and increasingly embryos), is a clear contribution to
the conservation of biological diversity, whilst this also enables and
encourages the sustainable use of its components. Gene banks have a
major role in sharing benefits arising from genetic resources,
particularly by contributions to capacity building in less developed
countries and those with economies in transition. For example, Kew's
Millennium Seed Bank is engaged in practical guidance on the
conservation of 'recalcitrant' seeds to gene banks mainly in Africa.
This venture comes under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture
Organisation and has been funded by a one off grant from the budget of
Defra's Chief Scientific Adviser.

**The International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture** **(ITPGRFA)**

32\. The ITPGRAFA makes freely available material for further research
and development of the 65 main food and fodder genera that are essential
to underpin human nutrition. These are globally distributed and are
often vital to local communities that have few opportunities to access
supplies of food through trade. Participating governments are required
to place in a multilateral system (MLS) accessions that are in 'the
public domain' and these are then made freely available for further use.
Every transaction must be accompanied by a standard Material Transfer
Agreement (sMTA) signed by the 'provider' and 'user': this requires
specified benefits to be paid into a 'trust' fund should further
development lead to the granting of a patent or other intellectual
property rights that restrict future availability of the genetic
material. The fund, when fully operational, will distribute grants to
increase genetic resource availability and under pin food and
agriculture activities in predominantly developing countries.

33\. Defra is currently in active discussion with gene bank managers and
other stakeholders to ensure that appropriate genetic material in the
public domain that comes within the ambit of the ITPGRFA is being made
available as required by the Treaty. The principle genera involved are
*Malus* from the National Fruit Collections, peas and beans genera from
both the Vegetable Gene Bank and the John Innes Collection and legume
and grass forages from the Institute of Grassland and Environmental
Research. Once this initial stage is complete, Defra intends to
encourage the managers of collections outside the public domain and/or
holding material not currently covered by the Treaty but nevertheless of
relevance to food and agriculture, to make these accessions available
under identical conditions.

**The European Coordination Programme for Genetic Resources (ECPGR)**

34\. For historical reasons genetic resource collections have been built
up on the basis of national boundaries, requirements and idiosyncrasies.
In recent decades there have been considerable efforts to identify
carefully the various accessions, noting duplications and anomalies,
with some effort at characterisation. Nevertheless, most collections
remain very much *national* assets with global access encouraged and
facilitated to either a lesser or greater extent. Now in Phase VII of
its activity, the ECPGR is designed to bring further rationalisation and
enhanced accessibility to collections in over forty European countries.
Though not limited to accessions for food and agriculture the emphasis
is very much on their practical use. Most of the gene banks in the
public domain in the UK are involved in this process.

**Council Regulation 870/2004 (GENRES II)**

35\. Finally, turning to European Community involvement, Council
Regulation 870/2004 sets in place a programme of measures to conserve,
characterise, collect and utilise the potential of biological and
genetic diversity in agriculture in a sustainable manner so as to
promote the aims of the Common Agricultural Policy. Genres II follows on
from the highly successful Genres I initiated in 1994. The UK is a fully
participating Member Country in the implementation of this programme.

36\. The programme comprises a number of collaborative projects (between
Member Countries) chosen to add value (by spreading knowledge,
increasing use, improving methodologies, exchange between Member States)
to the agri-environmental schemes for endangered species, provenance,
cultivars or breeds already funded at national or regional level. The
programme is open to bids from all Member Countries and the cost of
successful proposals is 50% funded from the EC and 50% from Member
Countries (split between the number of collaborators).

**[The future/possible points for discussion]{.underline}**

37\. The challenge in the first quarter of the twenty first century is
to:

-   rationalise collections nationally, regionally and globally whilst
    maintaining core accessions and strategic distribution

-   facilitate access, at the national, regional and international
    level, to material in collections, ensuring that those in the public
    domain are provided at minimal cost and consistent with the
    international commitments of the Convention on Biological Diversity
    and the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food
    and Agriculture, and any similar and future instruments

-   engage the private sector in the legitimate exploitation of the
    collections as genetic resource material so as to enhance food
    security, address changing nutritional requirements, utilise land
    for sustainable food production, address climate change issues, and
    as a more general vehicle to improve the living environment

-   recognise that private sector involvement requires a
    financial/commercial incentives involving patents or other
    restrictive instruments, whilst also acknowledging that this can
    impede development and exploitation of genetic resources by other
    parties -- this however is a policy, rather than a scientific,
    issue.

**DEFRA**

**London**

**May 2007**

**ANNEX**

# AGRICULTURAL COLLECTIONS IN THE UK

**[Introduction]{.underline}**

This Annex summarises some of the key agricultural collections in the
UK.

**England and Wales**

**Millennium Seed Bank (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)**

This is the largest wild seed bank in the world, with partners in 50
countries, and with over 18,000 wild plant species conserved not only in
the Millennium Seed Bank but duplicated in partner seed banks worldwide.
It aims to safeguard at least 10% of the world's flowering plants,
principally from arid lands and threatened habitats, against extinction
by the year 2010. It has already successfully secured the future of
virtually all the UK\'s native flowering plants through research and
conservation. It aims to conserve by 2020 a further 15% of the world's
plant genera, with the emphasis on those that are under threat or are
likely to become threatened, particularly as a consequence of global
warming. Government support is indirect through its annual grant in aid
to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

**National Fruit Collections (Brogdale)**

The Collections comprise over 2,230 varieties of trees of scions and
rootstocks of *Malus, Pyrus, Prunus, Cydonia, Mespilus* and *Corylus*,
bushes of *Ribes* and *Vaccinium* and vines of *Vitis*. The apple
varieties maintained at Brogdale form the largest collection of *Malus*
germplasm on a single site in the world. Defra is currently contributing
some £350k (2006-08) towards the maintenance and curation of the
Collections.

**Pea Gene Bank (John Innes Centre)**

The Gene Bank holds a collection of 3,150 accessions of peas. Defra
funds (e.g. £100k between 2002-07) contribute towards the Collection's
maintenance and characterisation, as well as the generation of duplicate
samples and key germplasm. The Collection serves academic, industrial
and non-industrial groups both within the UK and internationally.

**Vegetable Gene Bank (University of Warwick)**

The Gene Bank houses collections of *Allium, Brassica, Daucus, Lactuca,
Raphanus,* and some minor vegetables and their wild relatives. Defra is
contributing £1.3m (2004-09) to the conservation of this gene pool
(these funds also contribute to the University's collaborative work on
the European Co-operative Programme Crops Working Groups for Allium,
Brassica, Leafy Vegetables, Umbellifers and the Vegetable Solanaceae).

**UK National Culture Collections**

The UK National Culture Collections established in 1997, consist of a
network of nine professional, government-funded collections distributed
across ten locations, with collaboration between them effected through
the UK Federation for Culture Collections. The Collections cover a very
wide range of micro-organisms with holdings numbering more than 73,000.
They include:

-   **[CABI Bioscience Genetic Resources Collection]{.underline}**

> CABI's Genetic Resources Collection (GRC) is tasked with the
> collection of organisms to provide a resource for the scientific
> programmes of CABI. The GRC accesses filamentous fungi and yeasts,
> plant pathogenic bacteria, nematodes and biocontrol agents belonging
> to these groups. As well as live material the GRC is backed by over
> 370 000 dried specimens.

-   **[National Collection of Pathogenic Fungi]{.underline}**

> This is the UK\'s only culture collection specialising in fungi
> pathogenic to humans and animals. It currently holds about 2,500
> strains, most of which are available for sale and distribution.

-   **[National Collection of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria]{.underline}**

> This is an internationally recognised collection and has been
> maintained by the Central Science Laboratory for over 40 years. It
> houses virtually all known bacterial plant pathogens and acts as one
> of the largest and most frequently used collections in the world for
> the deposition of reference and type strains of plant pathogenic
> bacteria.

**Central Science Laboratory**

The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) is an executive research agency of
Defra. It owns an [Invertebrate Collection]{.underline} covering mites,
insects and nematodes of statutory importance and related taxa.
Although, this is not a formal national collection, it is a recognised
national resource. Similarly, CSL's [Plant Pathogenic Viruses
Collection]{.underline} is a recognised national resource for plant
health control. CSL also has a growing DNA collection for invertebrates,
fungi and viruses of statutory importance.

**Institute for Animal Health (IAH)**

The Institute for Animal Health is one of eight research institutes
sponsored by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
(BBSRC). It holds large collections of viruses, either endemic within
the UK or that pose a threat to UK livestock (exotic viruses), bacteria
and coccidial (protozoan) parasites. These include:

-   **[IAH Pirbright Laboratory]{.underline}**:

    -   Over 1,500 strains of [Foot and Mouth Disease]{.underline} virus
        accumulated from across the globe; [Rinderpest]{.underline}
        virus strains representing all 3 lineages collected since the
        1960's; 360 strains of [Bluetongue]{.underline} representing all
        24 serotypes; 50 strains of [Epizootic Haemorrhagic
        Disease]{.underline} virus; and 10 strains of [African Horse
        Sickness]{.underline} virus.

    -   The only breeding collection in Europe of [Culicoides
        midges]{.underline}, which offers opportunities to study vector
        competence and other factors that may affect insect transmission
        of Bluetongue and African Horse Sickness virus.

-   **[IAH Compton Laboratory]{.underline}**:

    -   Multiple collections of [endemic pathogens]{.underline}
        including Salmonella, Campylobacter, Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
        infectious Bronchitis, Marek's Disease virus and species of
        Eimeria (coccidial parasites).

    -   A collection of 11 in-bred, genetically defined lines of
        chickens of known susceptibility to the major [Avian
        pathogens]{.underline}. This resource is key for studies on
        avian immunology and the nature of the host responses to
        infections, including Avian Influenza.

    -   4 small, unique populations of genetically defined Canadian
        Holstein cattle and 2 populations of in-bred pigs.

**Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER)**

The genetic resources collection at IGER, a BBSRC sponsored institute,
currently consists of 16,342 unique accessions. It includes:

-   The only significant UK collection and one of the major European
    collections, of [forage grasses and legumes]{.underline}, mainly
    *Lolium*, *Festuca*, *Dactylis* and *Trifolium*. Defra is currently
    funding a project at IGER (£178k between 2002-08) to set up a
    duplicate collection of a prioritised sub-set of forage seeds at the
    Millennium Seed Bank.

-   Important collections of *Miscanthus* and *Avena*, which are
    currently being assimilated into a gene bank. The *Miscanthus*
    collection includes 335 sourced accessions from Europe, as well as
    China (84), Taiwan (30) and Japan (213). Defra is funding a project
    at IGER on the genetic improvement of Miscanthus for biomass (£1.2m
    between 2004-09).

**NIAB**

NIAB (National Institute of Agricultural Botany) holds a range of
collections covering agricultural and horticultural crops, including:

-   An extensive collection of seed (about 4,000 species) for use as a
    reference collection in identifying other seed species in
    agricultural and horticulture crops. The Official Seed Testing
    Station for England and Wales has been at NIAB since 1921.

-   'Living' collections of reference varieties of agricultural crops
    for use in DUS (Distinct Uniform Stable) testing and of ornamental
    crops for plant breeders' rights testing.

-   The [UK Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey]{.underline} collection of
    cereal rust and mildews, which is part funded by Defra, and numbers
    many hundreds of isolates with known virulence profiles. This is a
    unique resource in the UK and of considerable value both in terms of
    the information it provides to growers and the support of breeding
    and research initiatives that use the live material.

-   NIAB's own culture collection of all the important pathogens of UK
    arable and horticultural crops, providing one of the most
    comprehensive collections of seed-borne pathogens.

**Rothamsted Research**

Rothamsted (also sponsored by BBSRC) holds a number of nationally and
internationally important collections, including:

-   A key germplasm resource in the [UK National Willow
    Collection]{.underline}, which contains 1,300 different accessions,
    including 600 of the sub-genus *Vetrix* and 500 of *Salix*. The
    Collection underpins research on genetic improvement of biomass
    yield and composition for the UK bioenergy industry. Since rust
    disease caused by *Melampsora* spp is one of the biggest threats to
    biomass production from willow, Rothamsted also maintains a unique
    and extensive collection of rust isolates.

-   The [Rothamsted Archive]{.underline} is a unique collection, with
    continuity from 1843 to the present, of some 200,000 samples of
    crops and soils taken from agricultural field experiments for which
    the history is fully documented. The samples can be used by
    scientists worldwide to understand how changes in agricultural
    practices and external inputs affect for example, soil fertility and
    the ability to grow food.

-   A [nematode slide collection]{.underline} (20,000 plus), one of only
    3 worldwide, of soil dwelling free living and phytopathogenic
    nematodes from around the world.

**UK National Scrapie Plan: Semen Archive**

Since 2004, this 'gene bank' has been collecting semen from rams with
scrapie susceptible genes that may be reduced in number or bred out of
the national flock through the National Scrapie Plan for Great Britain
and the Northern Ireland Scrapie Plan. The aim is to enable the future
reintroduction of these diminished genotypes should that prove
necessary. Over 450,000 doses of semen had been stored from 74 native
and/or mainstream breeds by the end of March 2007. The project is funded
by Defra in Great Britain and the Department for Agriculture and Rural
Development in Northern Ireland, and managed by a Semen Archive
Management Board. Future activity will focus on: finishing collections,
agreeing a protocol for future use of the semen, and determining the
arrangements for long-term maintenance of the archive.

**UK National Action Plan for Farm Animal Genetic Resources**

The UK National Action Plan on Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) was
published in November 2006, in response to one of the major
recommendations of the UK Country Report on Animal Genetic Resources,
published in 2002. The Plan was produced by the National Steering
Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources. It will assist in delivering
Defra\'s new headline objectives for the livestock sector particularly
in encouraging it to develop breeding stock whose negative impact on the
environment is minimised and beneficial impacts are optimised through
holistic breeding programmes with sustainable selection criteria and the
use of more appropriate breeds. Our wide diversity of animal breeds
provides a rich repository of genetic material (*in situ* and *ex situ*)
from which we can select for particular traits such as disease
resistance, drought resistance, low methane emissions through more
efficient rumen activity, lower nitrogen output, robustness to improve
animal welfare, selective grazing to enhance wild biodiversity in
conservation grazing schemes etc..

**Scotland**

The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD)
supports a number of agricultural germplasm collections including
research collections that form part of its strategic research programmes
into sustainable agriculture, as well as those linked to statutory
responsibilities and conservation.

**Barley collections**

These include wild barley lines, land races from Syria and Jordan,
morphological mutants and various mapping populations from around the
world. The barley collection includes a breeders' working collection
that originates from trials and from a multiplication of gene bank
samples to give enough seed for replicated trials. This enables research
into novel genetic sources of barley disease resistance, malting quality
and dwarf varieties.

**Commonwealth Potato Collection**

A major seed gene bank held by the Scottish Crop Research Institute,
with 1,300 accessions of 86 different species related to the cultivated
potato *Solanum. tuberosum* L. from south and central America. The
collection is used for research on novel genetic sources of resistance
to pests, disease, frost, drought and heat, tuber quality, and
nutritional factors (including antioxidants).

**Fruit collections**

These include worldwide species and cultivars of *Ribes* (blackcurrant)
and *Rubus* (raspberry, blackberry), breeding lines, genetic stocks and
wild-origin relatives. Smaller collections of *Vaccinium* (blueberry)*,
Amelanchier, Aronia, Fragaria* (strawberry)*, Hippophae* (Sea Buckthorn)
and other genera are also held. The collections originated as part of
the infrastructure for raspberry and blackcurrant breeding programmes,
and are used as sources of novel genes for pest/disease resistance and
fruit quality/nutritional traits (e.g. ascorbic acid in *Ribes*).

**Scottish Agricultural Science Agency (SASA)**

SASA has responsibility for the registration and legislation of new
varieties of certain crops within the UK, which must be tested,
described and certified for uniqueness and agronomic merit in order to
be approved for UK and EU trade and for plant breeders' rights. Testing
requires comparison with definitive reference material. SASA is the sole
UK test centre for potatoes, peas, turnip rape, swede and vegetable
crops.

**Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh**

This holds extensive living collections of wild-origin plant material
from around the world, particularly plants of SE and SW Asia, the
Sino-Himalaya, South America and mainland Europe. Although these
collections generally do not hold agricultural germplasm as such, they
will include germplasm from the wild relatives of agricultural species.
These living collections are internationally significant, and contribute
to international programmes of plant taxonomy, systematics, biodiversity
and plant conservation. They form part of Scottish Executive's
commitment to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

**Northern Ireland**

**Agrifood and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)**

AFBI holds 2 specific collections:

-   A unique collection of 133 [apple varieties]{.underline}. The gene
    bank is crucial to the Northern Ireland apple industry for a variety
    of reasons, including that (i) most of the old varieties flourished
    before there was widespread use of chemicals for pest and disease
    control, and are therefore likely to have useful resistance to
    diseases such as apple canker and apple scab, and (ii) since the
    apple industry there is largely based around the Bramley, the gene
    bank allows for diversification using other varieties.

-   A working collection of over 250 [potato varieties]{.underline} and
    potential breeding lines, which include many commercial varieties,
    including a number of the 'Ulster' varieties and subsets of the
    Commonwealth Potato Collection with known resistance to Potato Cyst
    Nematode. It also includes blight (*Phytophthora infestans*) and
    blackleg (*Erwinia* spp) resistant accessions from the Dutch-German
    genebank and seedlings bred for elevated anthocyanins.