Within the scope of the action line C2DA - Conservation and Characterization of Agricultural Diversity - the ISOPlexis, Center for Agriculture and Sustainable Food Technology, operates in the process of prospecting, inventory, conservation, and characterization of the Genetic Resources for Agriculture and Priority Foods (RGAA) and their wild analogs (relatives).
The results of this work program are used in the development and maintenance of a Documentation and Information System (SDI) of the RGAA, which has as scope a double vertent, (1st) physics supported by ex situ germplasm collections (in cold chambers or in experimental fields), (2nd) digital, a database with public access, through the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Global).
The inventory, documentation, and conservation of genetic resources is a strategic priority arising from the International Treaty on Genetic Resources for Agriculture and Food (TIRGAA), the Nagoya Protocol, and the National and European Action Plans for the RGAA. This line aims to provide the Region with an inventory of agrodiversity combined with a tool for documenting genetic resources of priority interest, allowing their management and/or sustainable use by the agricultural and agri-food sector, ensuring the conservation of this agricultural heritage for future generations.
This line of action is part of Madeira's Regional Strategy for Smart Specialization (EREI) for the field of Agriculture, Food, and Bioeconomy and is in line with the cross-border strategy for the Macaronesia Area and with the European Ecological Pact (Green Deal), where agrobiodiversity is considered a fundamental requirement to maintain the productivity and sustainability of agrosystems, ensuring the production of food with quality that ensures the well-being of consumers and the construction of resilient food production systems.
Within the scope of the C2DA line, the structuring project called SDI applies a prospecting methodology based on the use of agroecological units (UAE) and gap analysis that maximizes the inventory of intraspecific diversity and the use of minimum descriptors from the International Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (IPGRI) and/or the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) for phenotyping and genotyping of genetic resources, in the field or under controlled laboratory conditions. Germplasm and propagation materials representative of genetic diversity are kept in cold rooms, at low temperatures (+5°C and/or -20°C), by the standards and protocols of IPGRI and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The information generated is documented in databases (ISOPex) and made available through the GRIN-Global platform. The SDI is articulated with the National Action Plan for the RGAA and with the European AEGIS system. The work program of the C2DA line is carried out in collaboration with regional partners, namely farmers, producer associations, DRA services, INIAV, and BPGV, and it is expected to articulate this work with the EMPHASIS platform.
The C2DA line presents interconnections and synergies with other ISOPlexis research lines, in particular, the MIA2 and 3B lines.
The investigation of the C2DA line and its SDI structuring project has been developed with funding from the PRODERAM2020, INTERREG B, and PCT-MAC programs.
The inventory of agrodiversity involves the components of biophysical, agronomic, biological, and ethnographic diversity, and is carried out using documentary, oral sources, and field research, involving its methodology and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This methodology allows the cross-referencing of documentary and historical information with the agro-ecological conditions, following the recommendations of IPGRI (Bioversity International) and FAO. The information and data collected are used in the development of the Information and Documentation System (IDS) of the RGAA, in internal and public databases. The latter uses the GRIN Global platform, which can be accessed online. ISOPlexis maintains the most complete inventories of the Region's agrodiversity, including crop wild relatives (CWR). The inventory of resources is used to define the areas for sampling and collection of Germplasm from the RGAA. These activities are developed alone or in coordination with the Sustainable Agriculture line.
The BG ISOPlexis is one of twelve worldwide research institutions in plant genetic resources that use this platform developed for Germplasm Banks, to maintain online its IDS and the inventory of the RAM's RGAA. Created by CROP TRUST in partnership with the USDA. It is used by world-renowned institutions such as CIP, CGIAR, CIMMYT, and the USDA-NPGS. In Portugal, BPGV, the research partner of BG ISOPlexis, uses this database to develop its research.
GRIN GlobalPopulations, cultivars, or varieties observed during the inventory, are sampled for collection of germplasm representative of genetic diversity. Representative samples of genetic resources are documented and after processing included in the Germplasm collections of the BG ISOPlexis. These procedures are carried out following the methodologies and protocols developed by CGIAR, IPGRI (Bioversity International), or the European Cooperative Program for Genetic Resources (ECPGR) for the handling and conservation of genetic resources in Germplasm Banks. The procedures adopted for sampling and conservation comply with international standards and are certified according to ISO 900: 2000 and 14001: 2004. Each germplasm sample collected is assigned an identity, which includes the entry registration number and the unique sample identification number (ISOP or access). Each ISOP is accompanied by an individual file (passport) that allows documenting the genetic resource. This collection of information is part of the IDS and allows the documentation of the RAM's RGAA.
The germplasm collection of the BG ISOPlexis is organized in the active and passive collections. Active collection, short-term, stored at 4°C, includes duplicates of the accessions and entries for Regeneration (regeneration and multiplication of the sample), Exchange (exchange of plant material with other institutions), and Reference (standardized samples for reference or research). Long-term Passive Collection, stored at -18ºC, includes Reference accessions of the diversity sampled in situ. The Passive Collection also includes samples for improvement. Field Collection holds accessions and genetic material of vegetative propagated species.
The BG ISOPlexis follows the international norms and standards by which the FAO Germplasm Banks are governed, and which lead to correct storage and maintenance of germplasm in its collections.
These standards include:
i) information system and documentation of genetic resources;
ii) a representative sampling of genetic diversity observed in situ;
iii) documentation and traceability of accessions at all handling stages;
iv) screening, cleaning, and quarantine in the processing of genetic material;
v) quality control of accessions in packaging, including germination and health tests to ascertain their germination potential, using International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) protocols;
vi) blending, packing, labeling, and packaging of accessions in the collections;
vii) periodic regeneration and multiplication of the material, maintaining the integrity of the accessions;
viii) exchange of material under the TAM, International Treaty on Genetic Resources for Agriculture and Food.
Characterization of genetic resources, which consists in the phenotyping and/or genotyping of genetic resources, using morpho-agronomic characters and functional molecular markers, selected specifically for the crop, based on descriptors from IPGRI (Bioversity International), UPOV, other international consortia, or the bibliography. The morpho-agronomic characterization consists of the morphometric analysis of a representative sample of germplasm. Molecular characterization consists of the biochemical or genetic analysis of a representative sample of germplasm, using polymorphic profiles of proteins, DNA (microsatellites), or metabolites. The data obtained are used for the development of the respective passports, certification of propagation material, control of the integrity of the germplasm collection accessions, identification and quality control of regional varieties, and/or conservation and valorization of RAM's RGAA. ISOPlexis is currently one of the few units that develop the evaluation of genetic resources, ensuring all aspects of their characterization. These activities are developed alone or in coordination with the Biological Resources or Food Technology lines.
ISOPlexis participates in several regional, national and international programs and plans aimed at the conservation, safeguard and sustainable use of agrodiversity and genetic resources for agriculture and food, namely:
- Program for the conservation, sustainable use and development of RAM's priority genetic resources;
- National Plan for Plant Genetic Resources (PNRGV);
- ECPGR's Integrated European System of Germplasm Banks (AEGIS) Program.
Local varieties (landraces) are a fundamental component of agrodiversity and genetic resources for agriculture and food. The mere existence in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (RAM), and its use by farmers and the primary sector, assumes great importance in terms of food safety and quality, sustainability of the territory and diversification of the rural economy.
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