Improve ex situ conservation for use
Although some PGRCs have experience in CWR curation, many CWR have yet to be successfully curated
Three of the four approaches of the linking model require active curation of the in situ sampled accessions/samples collected by the PGRC. However, there are great uncertainties around many CWR curation processes and protocols.
Current or potential limits to utilization
Drying protocols are unknown for many species, many CWR taxa require accession isolation during regeneration due to their predominant allogamy breeding system, and seed longevity or dormancy breaking protocols are still uncertain. As a consequence, necessary seed regeneration is delayed or rarely accomplished leading to both insufficient quantities of viable seeds to meet users’ needs and decline in genetic diversity within accessions.
This results in CWR plant material either seldom available to users nor even offered as available by PGRCs, significantly limiting its utilization.
The Target
To improve access to CWR accessions conserved ex situ that are linked to their in situ populations. This can be achieved through research related to CWR reproductive biology, longevity, conservation, and ecological aspects.
Seeds for users
CWR regeneration is complicated and often species specific, but necessary to provide enough seeds for users.
The out-breeding system of many CWR hinder their regeneration in PGRCs. However, the in situ backup approach can be an effective alternative to regeneration in PGRCs. This approach avoids expensive and complex regeneration thanks to periodic replenishment of back-up in situ germplasm samples in the PGRC.
Last but not least, it is important that all information on conserved CWR accessions is available to users, including all relevant data about the species provenance. For this purpose, GR managers should implement an efficient procedure to transfer all available information to the PGRCs and holder institutions. The latter, in turn, should keep databases publicly open and easily accessible to users (i.e. on the Internet).