Definition of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR)

• Plant genetic resources are the hereditary materials in plants that have actual or potential value for human welfare.
• The FAO definition is: 'Any genetic material of plant origin of actual or potential value.'
• 'The sum total of hereditary material or genes present in a species is known as the germplasm of that species.'
• A germplasm collection is therefore a collection of a large number of genotypes of a crop species and its wild relatives.

What is Included in PGR?

Plant genetic resources include the following categories:

• Cultivated varieties (modern HYVs): Currently grown varieties that represent the result of decades of breeding — e.g., IR-8, Kalyan Sona, Pusa Basmati 1.
• Landraces and farmers' varieties: Traditional crop varieties developed and maintained by farmers over generations in specific local environments. Landraces are genetically diverse (a mixture of slightly different genotypes), well-adapted to local conditions, and often carry resistances to local pests and diseases. Eg: Navara rice (Kerala), Chinnor rice (Madhya Pradesh), Samba Mahsuri rice (Andhra Pradesh).
• Obsolete varieties: Varieties that were previously commercially grown but are no longer in cultivation — replaced by newer HYVs. They may carry traits (disease resistance alleles, quality genes) that have been lost from modern breeding programmes.
• Wild relatives of crops: Wild plant species related to the crop — primary, secondary, or tertiary gene pool species. These are the richest source of novel genes for disease resistance, stress tolerance, and quality improvement. Examples: O. nivara (wild rice), Aegilops species (wild relatives of wheat).
• Breeding lines and genetic stocks: Materials developed by breeders as intermediate products — near-isogenic lines, mutants, aneuploids, trisomics, doubled haploids. Scientifically valuable reference materials.
• Tribal and folk varieties: Varieties maintained by tribal communities, often with unique traits reflecting centuries of selection under traditional farming systems.

Genetic Erosion — The Threat

• Genetic erosion refers to the gradual loss of genetic diversity in crop species and their wild relatives. It is one of the most serious threats to future food security. 
• With modernization of agriculture, large tracts of land have been put under pure line varieties of self-pollinated crops and hybrid varieties of cross-pollinated species.
• This has led to a gradual disappearance of local/land varieties ('desi' varieties) and open-pollinated varieties — both reservoirs of considerable variability.
• Cultivation and grazing are gradually destroying many wild species and their habitats.
• Wild relatives of crops may be eliminated by introduced weedy species or even by the cultivated forms derived from them.
• The loss is irreversible — this variability arose in nature over an extremely long period of time and, if lost, cannot be reproduced in a short time. This is why germplasm conservation is treated as an urgent national and international priority.

Causes of genetic erosion in India:

• Replacement of landraces by HYVs during the Green Revolution — most significant cause in India
• Habitat destruction — clearing of forests, wetlands, and grasslands that harbour wild relatives
• Overgrazing in areas where wild relatives grow
• Agricultural expansion into marginal lands
• Climate change altering the range of wild species

Germplasm Collections — Gene Banks

• The collection of a large number of genotypes of a crop species and its wild relatives, also known as gene banks.
• These provide the richest source of variability for crop improvement.
• Germplasm collections should contain: land varieties, wild forms, primitive races, exotic collections, and highly evolved varieties.
• The source specifically lists the content of germplasm collections maintained at NBPGR, including: Sorghum, pearl millet, wheat, barley, oats, rice, maize, and other agricultural and horticultural crops
• Cotton collection at CICR, Nagpur : G. hirsutum — approximately 4,100 entries; G. barbadense — approximately 300 entries; G. arboreum — approximately 1,755 entries; G. herbaceum — approximately 393 entries.
• Rice: IRRI, Philippines was maintaining approximately 42,000 rice strains. CRRI, Cuttack maintained more than 15,000 entries. IRRI's International Rice Genebank now holds over 130,000 accessions 

CONSERVATION OF PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES

5.1  In-Situ Conservation

• In-situ conservation is the conservation of species in their natural habitats and ecosystems — where they naturally grow and continue to evolve. It is particularly suited for wild relatives of crops, forest species, medicinal plants, and endangered species.

A. Methods of In-Situ Conservation

• National Parks: Protected areas where human activities are restricted. Examples: Kaziranga (Assam — important for wild grass relatives), Corbett (Uttarakhand), Bandipur (Karnataka), Sundarbans (West Bengal).
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Less restricted than national parks; allow some human activities. India has over 550 wildlife sanctuaries 
• Biosphere Reserves: Large protected areas designated by UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme. India has 18 biosphere reserves . Key biosphere reserves relevant to crop genetic resources: Nilgiri (rich in wild relatives of rice, vegetables), Nanda Devi (wild relatives of wheat, barley), Sundarbans (mangrove rice — Porteresia coarctata), Manas, Gulf of Mannar.
• Gene Sanctuaries: A concept proposed by NBPGR. An area of diversity protected from human interference. Within centres of origin, areas of greatest diversity should be demarcated and protected. Gene sanctuaries not only conserve existing diversity but permit evolution to proceed naturally — allowing new gene combinations and new alleles to arise.
• This is unique to in-situ conservation; ex-situ conservation preserves only the diversity present at the time of collection. NBPGR proposed establishing gene sanctuaries in Meghalaya for Citrus, and in North-Eastern India for Musa, Citrus, Oryza, Saccharum, and Mangifera.
• Sacred Groves: Traditional community-protected forest patches with religious significance. Found especially in Maharashtra (devrais), Kerala (kavus), Meghalaya, and Rajasthan. These unofficially conserve wild species and provide natural refugia for biodiversity.
• On-Farm Conservation: Farmers continue to grow traditional landraces alongside modern varieties, in their fields, preserving genetic diversity as part of their farming culture. Examples: Navara rice in Kerala (medicinal properties), Chinnor rice in Madhya Pradesh, red/purple rice varieties in tribal areas of Northeast India. On-farm conservation also allows continued evolution under farmer selection.

B. Advantages and Disadvantages of In-Situ Conservation

5.2  Ex-Situ Conservation

• Ex-situ conservation is the conservation of species outside their natural habitats, in controlled facilities. This is the primary method for conserving cultivated varieties and genetic stocks for breeding use. It provides security against the threats facing in-situ conservation.

A. Seed Gene Banks (Cold Storage)

• The most widely used method for conserving orthodox seeds — those that can tolerate desiccation (drying) and low temperatures without losing viability. Seeds are dried to low moisture content and stored at controlled low temperatures.

• Cold storage can extend the period between regenerations from 1-2 years to 10 years or more. Cold storage facilities were being established at Fort Collins (USA), IRRI (Philippines), and NBPGR (New Delhi).
• The NBPGR's National Gene Bank (NGB) at Pusa, New Delhi is the main long-term seed gene bank for India. It holds more than 4,40,000 accessions. 

B. Field Gene Banks

• For species with recalcitrant seeds (seeds that cannot tolerate desiccation — they must remain moist to stay viable) and for vegetatively propagated species, seed storage is not possible. Field gene banks maintain living plants in field conditions.
• Recalcitrant seed species: Mango (Mangifera indica), jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), coconut (Cocos nucifera), cocoa (Theobroma cacao), rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), bread fruit. These seeds die when dried below critical moisture content.
• Vegetatively propagated species: Sugarcane (Saccharum), banana (Musa), potato (Solanum tuberosum), cassava (Manihot esculenta), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), yam (Dioscorea).
• Examples of field gene banks in India:
  • ICAR-IIHR (Indian Institute of Horticultural Research), Bangalore — maintains collections of mango, banana, and other horticultural crops.
  • ICAR-CISH (Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture), Lucknow — mango, guava, citrus field gene banks.
  • ICAR-IIVR (Indian Institute of Vegetable Research), Varanasi — vegetable crop collections.

C. In Vitro Conservation (Tissue Culture)

• Plant tissues, organs, or cells are maintained on sterile artificial nutrient medium under controlled conditions. This is useful for vegetatively propagated crops and recalcitrant seed species.
• Slow growth medium: Cultures maintained at reduced temperature, low light, and minimal nutrients — growth is slowed, reducing the frequency of transfers needed. Intervals of 1-3 years between sub-cultures can be achieved.
• Meristem culture: Meristems (shoot tips) are maintained in vitro. This is also used for producing virus-free plants — apical meristems are free from systemic viruses because viruses spread through the vascular system and have not yet reached the apical meristem. Important for: banana (BBTV-free), sugarcane (SMV-free), potato (PVY-, PLRV-free), sweet potato, cassava.

D. Cryopreservation

• Biological material is stored at ultra-low temperatures in liquid nitrogen (-196°C). At this temperature all metabolic activity stops completely and biological material can be stored theoretically indefinitely without genetic change.
• Material stored: Seeds, pollen, meristems, embryos, shoot tips, cell suspensions.
• Methods: Slow cooling (controlled rate cooling), vitrification (ultra-rapid cooling to a glassy state without ice crystal formation), encapsulation-dehydration.
• NBPGR Cryogenebank: Cryogenebank with more than 12,000 accessions. .

Significance: Cryopreservation eliminates the risk of genetic drift and somaclonal variation associated with repeated subculturing in in vitro conservation. It is the most reliable long-term conservation method for vegetatively propagated and recalcitrant species.

E. DNA Banks and Pollen Banks

• DNA banks: Extracted genomic DNA stored at -20°C or -80°C. Useful for: molecular characterisation, gene discovery, phylogenetic analysis. Does NOT allow regeneration of the whole plant — supplementary to, not a replacement for, seed or living plant conservation.
• Pollen banks: Pollen stored at -196°C (cryopreservation) or -20°C for shorter periods. Useful for: crossing programmes when parents cannot be grown simultaneously, maintaining genetic diversity in dioecious plants.

5.3  Germplasm Documentation — Passport Data

Every germplasm accession in a gene bank must have associated documentation to be useful. Without documentation, a collection is merely labelled seeds — not a managed genetic resource.

Passport Data

• Passport data is the essential set of information collected at the time of germplasm collection and submission. The FAO Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors (MCPD) define the standard descriptors for passport data. Following is the required information needed.
  • Accession number — unique identifier assigned by the gene bank
  • Local name and scientific name (species, subspecies, variety)
  • Geographic origin — country, state, district, and if possible latitude, longitude, altitude
  • Date of collection
  • Method of collection (sampled from farmer's field, market, research station, etc.)
  • Source of the material (farmer's field, forest, market, gene bank, breeder)
  • Collector's name and affiliation
  • Local cultivation practices and uses
  • Special traits observed (specific disease resistance, unusual grain colour, aroma, etc.)
  • Storage history (number of times multiplied/regenerated)

In addition to passport data, accessions are characterised (morphological and agronomic traits measured) and evaluated (yield, quality, stress responses). Characterisation describes what the accession looks like; evaluation tests what it can do.

Passport data stored in:

• GENESYS — global germplasm information portal (maintained by CGIAR and Bioversity)
• PGR Portal — NBPGR India's germplasm information system
• GRIN (Germplasm Resources Information Network) — USDA's system

LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES

PPV&FR Act 2001 — Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights

• India's Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPV&FR) Act was passed in 2001.
• The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV&FRA) was established in 2005 .
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• This Act is India's sui generis (own kind) system for plant variety protection.
• 'Sui generis' means the system is uniquely designed for India's specific needs — it is not a copy of the UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) convention but instead balances breeder rights with farmers' rights in a way that UPOV does not.

A. Categories of Varieties Registrable Under the Act

• New variety: A variety that fulfils DUS criteria (Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability) and is novel (not previously available commercially). Protection period: 15 years for most crops; 18 years for trees and vines.
• Extant variety: A variety already in cultivation and in common knowledge in India before the Act came into force. Can be registered. Protection: 15 years.
• Farmers' variety: A variety that has been traditionally cultivated and evolved by farmers, or is a wild relative that has been used by farming communities. These can be registered as Farmers' Variety and are protected as heritage of the farming community.
• Essentially Derived Variety (EDV): A variety predominantly derived from another protected initial variety with only minor changes — for example, adding a single resistance gene via backcrossing. The EDV can only be commercialised with the authorisation of the breeder of the initial variety.

B. DUS Testing

• Registration requires DUS evaluation conducted at NBPGR or other designated DUS test centres:
• Distinctness (D): The variety must be clearly distinguishable from any other variety of common knowledge by at least one important morphological, physiological, or other characteristic.
• Uniformity (U): Within the variety, sufficient uniformity in the relevant characteristics, considering genetic variation expected from the particular propagation method.
• Stability (S): The relevant characteristics must remain unchanged after repeated reproduction or, in the case of a particular cycle of reproduction, after each such cycle.

C. Rights Granted

Breeder's Rights:

• Exclusive right to produce, sell, market, distribute, import, and export the protected variety.
• Duration: 15 years for annual crops; 18 years for trees and vines.

Farmers' Rights (Unique Feature of Indian Law — Not Available Under UPOV):

• Right to save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share, or sell farm produce of a protected variety in the same manner as before the Act came into force. However, farmers cannot sell the protected variety as branded seeds — they can sell harvested grain but not seeds with the breeder's registered label.
• Right to register their traditional varieties as Farmers' Variety — legal recognition for landraces developed by farming communities.
• Right to claim compensation if a registered variety fails to perform as described in its registration — protection against false claims.
• Protection from accusations of innocent infringement — if a farmer unknowingly uses a protected variety, they are protected from prosecution.
• Recognition and reward: Plant Genome Saviour Awards — annual awards to farmers and communities who conserve crop genetic resources and traditional varieties.

Researcher's Rights:

• Any breeder is free to use a protected variety as a research tool for developing new varieties — this is called the 'research exemption' or 'breeder's exemption'. No authorisation from the rights holder is needed for research use.

D. National Gene Fund

• A fund administered by the PPV&FRA.
• Breeders who use traditional germplasm (farmers' varieties) in developing their commercial varieties must make a benefit-sharing payment to the National Gene Fund.
• The Fund distributes payments to the farming communities who conserved and developed the germplasm used by the breeder.
• Provides economic recognition to indigenous knowledge holders and encourages continued conservation.

ITPGRFA — International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

• The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) was adopted by the FAO Conference in 2001 and entered into force in 2004. India ratified it in 2002.
• It is also called the Plant Treaty or Seed Treaty.

Key Features

• Objectives: Conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture; fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use; in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity.
• Multilateral System (MLS): A pool of 64 important food and fodder crop and forage species listed in Annex I of the Treaty. These species are made available to researchers, breeders, and farmers through a streamlined, facilitated access system. Crops in the MLS include wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, potato, sweet potato, cassava, banana, pigeonpea, chickpea, cowpea, lentil, pea, and many forages. These cover approximately 80% of human food calories.
• Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA): The legally binding agreement governing access to and use of material from the MLS. It specifies conditions of access and benefit-sharing.
• Benefit sharing: Commercial users of MLS material who develop a product must pay a proportion of benefits into the Treaty's Benefit-Sharing Fund (if the product is not available without restriction). If the product is freely available, no payment is required but voluntary contributions are encouraged.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992

The Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and entered into force in 1993. India is a signatory. It has three main objectives:

• Conservation of biological diversity
• Sustainable use of its components
• Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources

The CBD established a fundamental shift in the legal status of genetic resources: before the CBD, genetic resources were considered the 'common heritage of mankind' — freely available to anyone.

The CBD established that countries have sovereign rights over their genetic resources. This means a country can regulate access to its genetic resources and require benefit-sharing for their use.

India implements the CBD through the Biological Diversity Act 2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules 2004. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is the regulatory body under this Act.

Nagoya Protocol (2010)

• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) supplements the CBD.
• It was adopted at the 10th Conference of Parties to the CBD in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010, and entered into force in 2014.
• India ratified the Nagoya Protocol, and the Biological Diversity Act 2002 amended through the Nagoya Protocol Implementation Rules 2014 gives it domestic effect.

Key provisions:

• Prior Informed Consent (PIC): Before accessing genetic resources from a country, the user must obtain written PIC from the competent national authority of the provider country.
• Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT): The conditions of access and benefit-sharing must be agreed upon and documented between the provider country and the user.
• ABS Clearing House: An online platform for sharing information about ABS agreements and legislation.

TRIPS Agreement — Article 27.3(b)

• The TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement is a WTO (World Trade Organization) agreement from 1994.
• Article 27.3(b) of TRIPS states that WTO member countries may exclude plants and animals from patent protection, but they must provide protection for plant varieties through either patents, a sui generis system, or a combination of both.

UPOV — International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants

• UPOV is an intergovernmental organisation based in Geneva, established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (first adopted in 1961, last revised in 1991).
• Countries that are UPOV members must provide plant variety protection following UPOV's standards. I
• ndia is NOT a member of UPOV — it chose to develop its own sui generis system (the PPV&FR Act) which provides stronger farmers' rights than UPOV 1991 allows.