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Tuscia Germoplasm Bank

TUSCIA GERMOPLASM BANK

Sara Magrini & Genet Haile

Introduction

Over the last decades,the issue of biodiversity conservation has became an important focus of scientific debate: there are too many species that are extinct in the wild or threatened with extinction. The size and nature of environmental problems have led to the development of new strategies for ex situ conservation of plants – outside of their natural habitats – to support in situ conservation, as recommended by the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. An effective method is the collection of germplasm (especially seeds or spores) in the wild and its “cryoconservation” in specialized “banks” wheredehydrated seeds and spores can remain viable for long periods, available in case of extinction of the species in the wild or for scientific research.

The main Italian germplasm banks have joined the network RIBES – Italian Network of germplasm banks for Ex Situ Conservation of wild flora, a scientific association currently composed of 17 similar institutions spread over the whole territory.

 

The RIBES membership of Tuscia University

Tuscia Germplasm Bank, established in December 2005 as a section of the Botanical Garden, from July 2012 pertains to the Azienda Agraria didattico-sperimentale “Nello Lupori” and it is part of the Viterbo museums network. It is a research centre currently located at the Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, that deals with ex situ conservation of germplasm (seeds and spores) of endemic, rare or endangered species of the Italian wild flora, mainly dealing with issues related to their reproductive biology and to the assessment of extinction risk.

Currently, the Germplasm Bank manages to preserve about 350 accessions of spores and seeds of more than 150 taxa. Some projects concerning ex situ conservation and in vitro reproduction of species of the travertine substrates – as Santolina etrusca(Lacaita) Marchi & D’Amato, Sternbergia lutea (L.) Ker Gawl. ex Spreng., Asphodeline lutea (L.) Rchb. – and, especially, of wild orchids are ongoing. To date, over 150 seeds accessions of 60 orchid taxa are preserved, and the in vitro reproduction of some threatened species as Anacamptis palustris (Jacq.) R.M. Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W. Chase and Limodorum trabutianum Batt.it has been approached. Tuscia Germplasm Bank is one of the few banks in Europe that deals with long-term preservation of spores (110 accessions) and reproduction of threatened ferns, asOphioglossum azoricum C. Presl, O. vulgatum L., Phyllitis sagittata (DC.) Guinea & Heywood, Osmunda regalis L., Woodwardia radicans (L.) Sm., andDryopteris tyrrhena Fraser-Jenk. & Reichst., threatened with extinction both at Italian and global levels.