Centres of Excellence/ Other Projects

PGR Forum

European Crop Wild Relative Assessment and Conservation Forum (PGRFORUM)

EC Framework 5 Programme for Research,
Key action 2 ‘Global change, climate and biodiversity’
2.2.3 ‘Assessing and conserving biodiversity’

2003-2005

Coordinator: Nigel Maxted
School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, UK

Polish partner: Wieslaw Podyma
National Centre for Plant Genetic Resources
Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute, PL

PGR Forum provides a European forum for the assessment of taxonomic and genetic diversity of European crop wild relatives and the development of appropriate conservation methodologies. PGR Forum's main goal is to build an information system providing access to European crop wild relative data. One of the primary outputs of PGR Forum will be a conservation gap analysis and recommendations for in situ and ex situ conservation of European crop wild relatives. The development of methodologies, particularly for in situ conservation is also a major component of the project.

Additional tasks:

• european crop wild relative assessment,
• threat and conservation assessment,
• in situ data management methodologies,
• population management methodologies,
• genetic erosion and genetic pollution methodologies.

PGR Forum’s work programme is implemented through a series of five interrelated workpackages and associated workshops:

In situ data management was the focus of PGR Forum Workshop 3, September 8-10 2003, Prague, Czech Republic. A critical aspect of in situ conservation is data management, and the ability to exchange data in a standardized format. PGR Forum's objectives in this context were to:

• define appropriate in situ genetic conservation data types;
• design appropriate database structures and data visualisation tools;
• design in situ genetic conservation data management and analysis techniques;
• publish an in situ data management methodology.

Population management was the subject of PGR Forum Workshop 4, April 21-24 2004, Mahón, Menorca, Spain.

PGR Forum proposes population management and monitoring methodologies appropriate for the in situ genetic conservation of crop wild relatives. Specifically, the forum is assessing:

• the minimum baseline information and standards required for generation of protected area management plans for population management of crop wild relatives;
• how existing management plans can be adapted for the genetic conservation of crop wild relative populations;
• the most appropriate means of monitoring crop wild relative populations.

Genetic erosion and pollution prediction and assessment are the themes of PGR Forum Workshop 5, 8-11 September 2004, Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal.

PGR Forum was tackling the critical issue of how plant genetic erosion and pollution could be predicted and assessed. The threat of genetic pollution or introgression, either from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or from conventionally bred crops, to wild species has become an increasing risk to the in situ genetic conservation of crop wild relatives. PGR Forum's objectives in this context were to:

• provide a forum to debate genetic erosion and pollution assessment and prediction for crop wild relatives;
• establish methodologies for the assessment and prediction of genetic erosion and pollution.

Link: www.pgrforum.org