The document discusses the PGR Secure project, which aims to improve conservation of crop wild relatives (CWR) and landraces (LR), and facilitate their use by breeders. It does so through four themes: novel characterization techniques, CWR and LR conservation, improving breeders' use, and informatics. The project involves partners across Europe researching topics like phenomics, genomics, transcriptomics of CWR/LR. It will develop European CWR and LR inventories and conservation strategies, identify breeders' needs, and create online information systems. The goal is to provide breeders more diverse genetic resources to develop new crop varieties with improved resistance to stresses like pests, diseases, drought and heat.

1. Introduction of PGR (plant genetic resources)
Secure project
Farrokhzadyusuf@gmail.com
By: Yusuf Farrokhzad

2.  CROP WILD RELATIVES :
A crop wild relative is a wild plant taxon that has an indirect use
derived from its relatively close genetic relationship to a crop; this
relationship is defined in terms of the CWR belonging to gene pools 1
or 2, or taxon groups 1 to 4 of the crop.
A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, traditional variety of a species
of plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and
cultural environment of agriculture and due to isolation from other
populations of the species.
 Landrace(traditional variety) :
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5. The goal of agrobiodiversity conservation, unlike other forms of
conservation, is not only the conservation of species and intra-specific
genetic diversity related to agriculture, but also to promote its sustainable
use in facilitating agricultural production.
Although significant progress has been made in the conservation and
management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
(PGRFA) globally and in Europe, there remain two critical areas where
progress has been limited:
(a) the systematic conservation of crop wild relative
(CWR) and landrace(LR) diversity.
(b) the use of conserved agrobiodiversity by breeders
Start2011,Finish2014
ProjectNo:266394
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Full name:Novel characterization of crop wild relative and
landrace resources as a basis for improved crop breeding

6. The project, initiated by the European Cooperative
Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) In
Situ and On-Farm Conservation Network involves 42
European countries, as well as both large and smaller
European plant breeding companies.
The research requires the integration and
collaboration of European policy, conservation and
breeding sectors and the products will be disseminated
Europe-wide to all appropriate stakeholders.
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PGR Secure concept
a. improve breeders’ use of conserved CWR / LR
diversity
b. enhance CWR / LR diversity availability through
the systematic conservation of CWR and LR species
and genetic diversity.
 To achieve these dual goals the project has
four research themes:
 The concept of PGR Secure is to:
i. Novel characterization techniques
ii. CWR and LR conservation
iii. Improved breeders’ use
iv. Informatics

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9. Conventionally, breeders have used their own lines to generate
novel crop varieties, but these materials are relatively genetically
uniform and it is now increasingly recognized that CWR and LR
offer the breadth of genetic diversity required by breeders to meet
the novel challenges of climate change and rapidly changing
consumer demands.
The aim of PGR Secure is therefore to research novel
characterization techniques and conservation strategies for
European crop wild relative and landrace diversity, and further,
to enhance crop improvement by breeders, as a means of
underpinning European food security in the face of climate
change.
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10.  Investigation of novel characterization techniques,
including: (1a) Genomics, phenotyping and
metabolomics, (1b) Transcriptomics, (1c) Focused
Identification of Germplasm.
 CWR and LR conservation, including: (2a) Europe-
wide CWR inventory, (2b) Exemplar national CWR
inventories, (2c) European CWR strategy, (2d) Europe-
wide LR inventory, (2e) Exemplar national LR
inventories, (2f) European LR strategy.
 Facilitating breeders’ CWR and LR use, including: (3a)
Identifying breeders’ needs, (3b) Meeting breeders’
needs, (3c) Integration of conservation and user
communities, (3d) Pre-breeding – channelling potential
interesting germplasm into commercial breeding
programmes
 Informatics development, including: (4a) CWR
and LR inventory information web availability,
(4b) Novel characterization information web
availability, (4c) Inter-information system
operability.
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13.  CWR and LR conservation:
Despite the recognized value of Europe's CWR and LR, their
conservation—both ex situ and in situ—has to date not been adequately
addressed. Systematic methods and tools to tackle their conservation are
now available and it is critical that each country addresses the conservation
of these precious resources before more potentially useful genetic diversity
is lost.
We need to the populations of wild species related to crops (crop wild
relatives, or CWR) and traditional crop varieties, known as landraces (or LR).
Adapting agriculture to environmental change through
improved use of wild species and local varieties in Europe
Only a fraction of the total
genetic resources available
are used in breeding for crop
improvement
1
2
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15.  Work package 1: Phenomics and genomics:
 Assessment of the secondary metabolite content of
crop wild relatives (CWR) and landraces (LR).
 Assessment of the gene content of CWR/LR using next
generation sequencing.
 Assessment of the whole genome differential gene
expression of CWR/LR accessions challenged with two
different insect pests.
 Identification of candidate genes for insect resistance.
Objectives
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16.  Work package 3: crop wild relative conservation
Objectives
 European and national CWR inventories – produce national and
Europe-wide inventories of CWR diversity that contain basic
biodiversity data and are moderated by national PGR
programmes.
 Exemplar national CWR conservation strategies – detailed CWR
conservation strategy case studies for Finland, Italy, Spain and
the UK that prioritize in situ and ex situ conservation actions.
 European priority gene pool CWR conservation strategy – CWR
conservation strategy that reviews European CWR wealth and
conservation status, prioritizes in situ and ex situ conservation
actions, and links to breeder-based exploitation of CWR
diversity.
 European generic CWR conservation strategy – drawing on all
elements of the workpackage research, formulate a strategic and
systematic European CWR conservation strategy that establishes
conservation priorities and makes links to breeders demands.
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17. Work package 4: Landrace conservation
1.Europe-wide extant LR inventory of (at least) the case study taxa
(Avena, Beta, Brassica and Medicago), made available as a web-
enabled Europe-wide inventory that contains basic biodiversity
data and is moderated by national PGR programmes.
2.Exemplar national LR conservation strategies – based on detailed
extant LR inventory case studies of Finland, Italy and the UK.
3.European LR priority gene pool
(Avena, Beta, Brassica and Medicago) analysis and specific European
conservation strategy.
4.Drawing on PGR Secure priority gene pool case studies and three
country inventories, along with ECPGR On-farm Working Group
activities and existing information sources, develop a generic European
LR conservation strategy that reviews European LR wealth,
conservation status, prioritized in situ and ex situ conservation actions
and links to breeder based exploitation of LR diversity.
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18. Work package 5: Engaging the user community
 To facilitate and initiate the flow of material and
knowledge from the project to commercial breeding
programs.
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 To identify, visualize and discuss with the European crop
wild relative (CWR) / landrace (LR) diversity stakeholders
concerned (breeders, public research institutes, gene banks,
government and NGOs) in Europe the present needs
concerning CWR and LR use.
 To carry out SWOT analyses of the European PGR and use
community needs in Europe resulting in clear action points
to secure PGR conservation and use networks and to
promote the use of CWR and LR.

19. Work package 6: Dissemination and training
 To attract additional funds in order to sponsor a wide audience to
attend the final dissemination conference that will show case
PGR Secure project results at the end of the project.
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 To disseminate the PGR Secure project results to the crop wild
relative (CWR) and landrace (LR) conservation and breeder
communities across Europe, particularly web-enabled the
Europe-wide inventories of CWR and LR diversity and the Trait
Information Portal in order to promote the use of the natural
diversity of CWR and LR and its useful traits in breeding
programs.
 To raise scientific, professional and general public awareness of
the PGR Secure project, its plans, results and potential benefits
and to establish the link between the conservation and the CWR /
LR diversity user communities—namely breeders, farmers and
other users of germplasm—through workshops, publications and
a final dissemination conference
Objectives

20.  Project innovation
PGR Secure is identifying and facilitating access
to a broader range of crop wild relative and
landrace genetic diversity that can be used to
increase resistance to new strains of pests and
diseases and tolerance to extreme environmental
conditions such as drought, flooding and heat
stress–pressures that are rapidly increasing in
their detrimental effects on crop productivity.
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21. Project approach
PGR Secure is implemented using four interrelated
approaches:
 Novel characterization techniques: Utilization of
genomic techniques and predictive tools to develop
new approaches to expedite plant breeding.
 Conservation of crop wild relatives and landraces:
Development of a Europe-wide conservation strategy
for these high priority genetic resources
 Improved use by breeders: Promotion of the use of
crop wild relatives and landraces by the European
plant breeding sector.
 Information management: Production of a web–based
information system to improve access to trait and
conservation data about these crop wild relatives and
landraces. 12/5/2017 21

22. PROJECT PARTNERS
The University of Birmingham, United Kingdom (Coordinator).
Wageningen UR Plant Breeding and Centre for Genetic Resources,The Netherlands.
Bioversity International, Italy
The University of Perugia, Italy
Julius Kuhn‐Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Germany.
NordGen, Sweden
MTT Agrifood Research, Finland
The University of King Juan Carlos, Spain
ServiceXS BV, The Netherlands
The University of Nottingham,United Kingdom
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23.  A Concept for In Situ (On-farm) Conservation in Europe
"In-situ conservation means the conservation of
ecosystems and natural habitats and the
maintenance and recovery of viable populations
of species in their natural surroundings and, in
the case of domesticated or cultivated species, in
the surroundings where they have developed
their distinctive properties”.
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24.  to maintain and develop landrace (LR) diversity for local communities and breeding
(including participatory plant breeding), as a pre-requisite to ensure food security,
productivity as well as resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses in a scenario of climate
change and unpredictability.
 to maintain viable agro-ecosystems and useful agro-ecosystem services.
 to develop new (e.g. environmentally friendly) farming
systems that are based on ‘diverse’ varieties in such answering
the changing needs of farmers (like organic farmers) and the
consumer demand for a sustainable production systems.
 to develop farming systems that rely on landraces to produce high value typical
products.
 to maintain different traditions and uses of a crop while extending crop and varietal uses.
 to increase farmer capacities that are related to selection for improving yield, adaptation
and quality and to conservation methods.
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25. It brought together the international community to debate the current status and future enhanced
utilization of CWR and LR diversity for improving agricultural production, increasing food security and
sustaining the environment. The conference was a landmark in PGR science, highlighting exotic plant
germplasm as a potentially critical but neglected resource for crop improvement.
 Conference
The PGR Secure consortium and the European
Association for Research on Plant Breeding
(EUCARPIA)convened a joint international conference
on utilization and conservation of crop wild relative
(CWR) and landrace (LR) diversity for crop
improvement. The conference show cased novel
characterization techniques and conservation strategies
to identify and preserve CWR and LR traits to increase
options for crop improvement as a means of
underpinning food security in the face of climate
change.
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26.  Development of national LR conservation strategies by the In Situ Conservation Network
Impacts and achievements:
 Breeders working interactively with agrobiodiversity conservationists
 Significantly increase information on important traits in crop wild relatives and local
varieties and the more effective use of plant genetic resources in European farming
 Improve access and wider use of biodiversity resources in breeding programmes
 Direct involvement of plant breeders to ensure an effective take-up of research results
 Pursue broad objectives of consumer demands and food security and also contribute to the
goals of the EC Biodiversity Action Plan for Agriculture
 Refinement of strategies for sustainable conservation
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Publications of Our Collaborators:

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