Exploiting novel germplasm

Abstract

Only 0.1% of the world's plant species are grown as crops, and even within these crop species, only a small proportion of the total genetic variability is used in commercial varieties. Here, I address 6 inter-related questions about why it might be desirable to exploit novel germplasm in breeding programs: to exploit plant diversity, to meet continuing breeding objectives in major crops, to develop new crops, to meet new needs from existing crops, to ensure all the world's people benefit from breeding programs, and to ensure the sustainability of crop production. Both species which are rarely cultivated, and genes from accessions and species related to existing crops, can be exploited to meet the need for improvement of agricultural production. Molecular and statistical methods have the potential to speed introduction of novel germplasm—allowing quantitative assessment of diversity, characterisation of desirable genes, tracking of chromosomes, genes, or gene combinations through breeding programs, selection of rare recombination events, and direct gene transfer through transformation. But the challenges of maintaining desirable characters in varieties incorporating novel germplasm, overcoming genetic stability problems, and ensuring safety are considerable.