Kuwait Gene Bank
摘要
Plant genetic resources are the sum of all genes and traits available for a given crop that include all cultivars, landraces, as well as their wild relatives. The available gene pool among these individuals holds immense potential for the future improvement of a given crop. The desirable traits that are being sought for incorporation into elite varieties may come from many sources and some of the traits that are required for future improvement criteria may not be known at present. New and emerging threats due to climate change or changing consumer preferences could change the focus of future crop improvement goals. Therefore, the collection and preservation of all available genetic resources is of utmost importance so that these valuable genes are not lost which may lead to genetic erosion. Many international institutions are involved with plant gene conservation with a single crop or a multi-crop focus based on their mandate. Kuwait, being a small country with extreme temperature, water scarcity, and salinity, requires the skillful exploitation of its scarce genetic resources. The existing plants, being able to withstand such a challenging environment, are expected to contain genes allowing them to survive such harsh climates and thus may have potential utilization in the future. Several natural reserves and sanctuaries of Kuwait host a diverse array of species that may provide useful genes for such crop improvement in the future. This chapter summarizes the available plant genetic resources of Kuwait and their conservation efforts.