Good news from the genebank world?

As you may have noticed, I’ve been on a mission lately to document in Brainfood the progress that genebanks are making. Because I needed some good vibes, you know? So last week there was a post on how the “software” of genebanks — that is, how they function and are managed — is being upgraded. The week before there was a round-up of core collections, one of the main things genebanks do to get their contents used more, showing that this oldish technology is still up and running, and even occasionally making a difference. And then this week I did a Brainfood on the new “hardware” some genebanks are using — or could be using. Meaning cool modern tools of different kinds to help out at difference stages of the conservation-to-use workflow. But I’m sure I missed some things. Surely I missed some things? Let me know in the comments. Please. For the vibes, you understand.

Nibbles: Ancient Mexican seedbank, Indian millets, Foraged foods, Soybean breeding, Apple breeding, Albanian heirlooms, Bangladesh fish genebank

  1. People in the Nejapan Sierra Sur in Oaxaca, Mexico had a seed bank 400-700 years ago so they could re-create their complex cuisine after disruptions.
  2. How MSSRF revived millets in Odisha, India. You think a seed bank was involved?
  3. Meanwhile, in Meghalaya (also India), foraged foods are helping to diversify state-provided school lunches and address chronic malnutrition. Talk about complex cuisine. Are all these species in a seed bank somewhere, though? Do they need to be?
  4. How the National Soybean Germplasm Collection at the Agricultural Research Service lab in Urbana, Illinois helped save soybeans in Iowa.
  5. University breeding programmes are keeping the apple afloat in the USA. That and genebanks.
  6. Farmers and agrotourism are bringing back some cool flavors in Albania. Well, that and the Albanian Gene Bank.
  7. Fish need genebanks too, and Bangladesh is on it. Did ancient Bangladeshis have them, I wonder?

Brainfood: Taxonomic identification, Niche mapping, Harvest tracking, Drones, Phenomics, Yield analysis

Nibbles: Corn diseases, German potato collection, Vietnam rice trials, Endophyte strain, Fish nutrition, Himalayan pea, Subversive seeds

  1. The US needs better maize.
  2. German genebank looks for the best potatoes.
  3. Vietnam looks for better rice in IRRI’s genebank.
  4. New Zealand markets an endophyte for better grass performance.
  5. Some Timor-Leste fish are better than others.
  6. The Himalayas have a better pea. Of some kind.
  7. How’s that for subversive cataloguing?

Brainfood: Genebank metrics, Genebank reviews, Botanic gardens ABS, Genebank practical guides, Germplasm User Groups

Want to know what AI makes of the above? “Genebanks are sharpening their tools: new metrics set benchmarks for performance, peer reviews foster collaboration, and the Plant Treaty offers clearer rules for sharing, FAO’s practical guides make standards easier to apply, while Germplasm User Groups show how farmers benefit when genebanks open their doors.” Sounds good to me. But to what extent will also this be adopted around the world, and will it last?