Spain Germplasm Bank of Annual Forage Legumes Seeds at the Scientific and Technological Research Center of Extremadura (CICYTEX)
摘要
Ex situ seed conservation in germplasm banks for maintaining genetic diversity is becoming increasingly essential to ensure food security despite new global scenarios (climate, demographics, and so on). This chapter aims to describe the germplasm bank belonging to CICYTEX ESP010 (Spain), which is located at the “Finca La Orden-Valdesequera” Agricultural Research Institute. This bank preserves a significant amount of genetic diversity of annual forage legumes in an official active collection. The collection is represented by the genera: Trifolium, Medicago, and Ornithopus, and the species Biserrula pelecinus L. The bank handles maintaining European-level databases for Trifolium subterraneum L. and Medicago spp. Additionally, it conducts a selection program that has resulted in the registration of 8 varieties of Trifolium subterraneum L. and 6 varieties of other species. Users can request access to the preserved material in the bank by submitting justified requests using the Standard Material Transfer Agreement. The bank will send the requested seeds free of charge, depending on availability. In order to improve and update its operations, and in response to financial and environmental crises, the bank focuses on maintaining its activity. It considers testing the preserved material and generating new characterizations (radiometric, molecular, nutritional) as essential. These assessments allow for the utilization of diversity in other productive sectors. They also demonstrate the capacity and importance of annual forage legumes in mitigating and adapting to climate change as well as their role in ensuring the sustainability of agroecosystems.