Question

What is meant by germplasm collection? What are its benefits?

Answer 1

Hint: Germplasm can be regarded as any resource, which is living, that is stored for future purposes. Germplasm can wither seeds or tissues. It is applicable to both plants and animals.

Complete answer:
Germplasm collection can be defined as the collection of varieties of either live crops or its wild varieties, which possess different alleles. The sample or the specimen collected may be seeds that are collected and stored in seed banks and also trees and plants grown in nurseries. It is also practised among animals by the preservation of genes in gene banks. This process has a variety of benefits. They are used for the process of breeding of both plants and animals, for the preservation of rare genes or seeds for its further propagation, also for other purposes in the research field. It can involve incorporation of wild genes into the lines which are exclusively human selected. This function has its importance in the field of food safety and security, also for the conservation of biological diversity. An excellent collection of the germplasm is very important in having a choice of a desired trait which is to be incorporated in the existing varieties, to improve its genetic makeup.

Note: Cryopreservation involves the process of storage of cells, tissues, organs, or seeds at very low temperatures, which otherwise have chances of getting degraded by the organic processes happening within the tissues. The medium used in the preservation can be either through solid carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen. During this process, due to the low-temperature present, the enzymatic activities present inside the cells, tissue or any living material is paused. This could be used in the storage of many living tissues or cells, for a very long period of time.