White papers on GCP research components: Paper No 3: Genetic stocks
Abstract
A series of Position Papers have been drafted by the CGIAR Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) team in collaboration with external experts. The goals are to communicate the outputs and deliverables from each research component during 2004–2014, and to explore options for enabling and ensuring that the potential benefits of these components will be fully realised in the future.
This paper focuses on the outputs and options for GCP’s genetic stocks component. This component was born of the recognition that genetic gain in crop germplasm can be significantly increased by: (a) more efficiently exploiting various sources of diversity, and, (b) creating diversity to expand the base for trait discovery and selection. As a result, the development of new genetic stocks has been a cornerstone of the original foundation of GCP research and for its network of partners. Initially, these resources often had a more upstream aspect (eg, genetic studies), but the activity remained at the heart of GCP projects even when GCP shifted to focus more on integrated plant breeding and the use of these resources.
Citation
GCP Management Team. White papers on GCP research components: Paper No 3: Genetic stocks. Generation Challenge Programme, Mexico (2012) 32 pp.