Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Utilization: The Accomplishments and Future of a Societal Insurance Policy

Concerns about the genetic erosion of crop genetic resources (CGR) were first articulated by scientists in the mid-20th century and have since become an important part of national policies and international treaties. The C-8 (Plant Genetic Resources) section of the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) was created in 1990 in response to these concerns. Over the last 50 yr, both ex situ and in situ conservation have been set up to maintain threatened CGR. During this period, a set of tools (core collections, molecular markers, and geographic information systems) has been adopted to facilitate conservation and utilization by breeders. Current and future trends include characterization of the genotypic basis of phenotypic variation and the evolutionary, ecological, and human factors that have shaped CGR. The intellectual property regime to which CGR are subjected since 1980 has limited the exchange of germplasm. It remains to be seen if these regimes will evolve so as to achieve basic goals of conservation of genetic diversity and traditional knowledge associated with diversity, while at the same time reward breeders and farmers. Funding of biodiversity conservation remains a critical point. Finally, broadening the conservation circle to establish closer collaborations with grassroots conservation movements and community seed banks is necessary to better conserve the broad range of CGR and as an essential starting point for participatory breeding efforts. THE C-8 SECTION is the youngest section in the CSSA. The first C-8 articles in Crop Science appeared in Volume 31 of the 1991 publications. The current membership of the section includes some 82 members (first choice). An additional 280 members list C-8 as a second choice. The section plays an active role in the Annual Meeting and the Society by organizing symposia and workshops, either individually or jointly with other sections, and by its involvement in the Meyer and Sperling awards. On an annual basis it also recognizes the best C-8 papers published in Crop Science. The following individuals (in alphabetical order) were involved in the creation of the C-8 section: Don Duvick, Steve Eberhart, Jerry Nelson, Cal Qualset, and Henry Shands. The inception of the C-8 section was one of the outcomes of a growing concern about the fate of genetic diversity available for plant breeding. As the raw material of future elite cultivars and an indicator of sustainability of agricultural production, the status of genetic diversity is of utmost concern for agricultural production, specifically, and for societies, in general. World food demand is expected to double or triple by 2050. This increase will result from a rise in world population from 6 billion to 8 to 10 billion people as well as an increase in per capita consumption (Green et al., 2005; United Nations, 2004). Currently, some 854 million people (or 14% of world population) are currently chronically or acutely malnourished, particularly in Africa (more than 30%). More than two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies (“hidden hunger”). Among the many causes of hunger is low agricultural productivity, especially in tropical Africa and remote parts of Latin America and Asia. Malnutrition also plays a role in resistance to diseases. For example, 60% of malaria deaths are due to malnutrition (Sánchez and Swaminathan, 2005). Good nutrition is cited as a factor to combat AIDS (South Africa Department of Health, 2001). Reducing hunger is an explicit target of both the World Food Summit and the Millennium Development Goals. It is also an essential condition for achieving other development goals (FAO, 2005). From 1961–1999, global food production has managed to outstrip population growth. This has been achieved by an increase of cultivated land (12% in global crop land area, 10% in the area of permanent pastures), of output per unit area (106% in food crop yield per unit area), and, above all, by an increase in inputs (increase of 97% in irrigated lands, 638% in nitrogen fertilizer, 203% in phosphorus fertilizer, and 854% in pesticides) (Green et al., 2005). In the context of increased agriculture production, agriculture has become the single most important threat to biodiversity as suggested by the analysis of Green et al. (2005) on the causes of bird threats or extinctions. Two solutions have been proposed to address the threat posed by agriculture: wildlife-friendly farming (which increases the presence of wildlife on farmland, possibly at the cost of agricultural yields) and land sparing (which sets aside extra land for wildlife conservation by increasing agricultural yields) (Green et al., 2005; Balmford et al., 2005). The expression crop genetic resources usually refers to the sum total of genes, gene combinations, or genotypes available for the genetic improvement of crop plants. Following the proposal of Harlan and de Wet (1971), plant genetic resources were classified in three gene pools that reflected the increasing difficulty in performing sexual crosses and obtaining viable and fertile progenies. Gene Pool I includes the crop species itself and its wild progenitor. Crosses within Gene Pool I can generally be made easily and the resulting progeny is viable and fertile. This gene pool corresponds to the biological species concept. Gene pools II and III include other species that are related, yet different from the crop species of interest. Crosses betweenGenePool I and II are Paul Gepts, Dep. of Plant Sci./MS1, Section of Crop and Ecosystem Sci., Univ. of California, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616-8780. Received 20 Mar. 2006. *Corresponding author ([email protected]). Published in Crop Sci. 46:2278–2292 (2006). CSSA Golden Anniversary Symposium doi:10.2135/cropsci2006.03.0169gas a Crop Science Society of America 677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA Abbreviations: CGR, crop genetic resources; CSSA, Crop Science Society of America. R e p ro d u c e d fr o m C ro p S c ie n c e . P u b lis h e d b y C ro p S c ie n c e S o c ie ty o f A m e ri c a . A ll c o p y ri g h ts re s e rv e d . 2278 Published online September 8, 2006