The conservation of plant genetic resources (PGR) is critical to ensuring global food security and agricultural sustainability. Genebanks play a vital role in ex situ conservation, complementing in situ strategies by preserving crop diversity (incl. their wild relatives) and providing access to biological materials for research, breeding and farming. However, maintaining high conservation standards and ensuring accessibility remains a global challenge. To address this, the ‘Genebank Peer Review’ system was developed as a collaborative quality assessment and improvement mechanism. This system facilitates reciprocal evaluations among genebanks, promoting transparency, capacity building and continuous improvement in conservation practices. Implemented in Europe since 2019, the peer review process involves structured self-assessments, site visits and expert evaluations, culminating in publicly available reports that guide genebanks in enhancing their operations. Feedback from participating institutions highlights the system's effectiveness in fostering knowledge exchange, strengthening professional networks and improving genebank management practices. Despite its success, challenges remain, particularly regarding expert availability and resource constraints. Future efforts should focus on institutionalizing mentorship programmes to sustain and expand the impact of Genebank Peer Reviews and monitor improvements.

Paleogenomics focuses on the recovery, manipulation, and analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) from historical or long-dead organisms to reconstruct and analyze their genomes. The aDNA is commonly obtained from remains found in paleontological and archaeological sites, conserved in museums, and in other archival collections. Herbarium collections represent a great source of phenotypic and genotypic information, and their exploitation has allowed for inference and clarification of previously unsolved taxonomic and systematic relationships. Moreover, herbarium specimens offered a new source for studying phenological traits in plants and for disentangling biogeography and evolutionary scenarios of species. More recently, advances in molecular technologies went in parallel with the decreasing costs of next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches, which paved the way to the utilization of aDNA for whole-genome studies. Although many studies have been carried out combining modern analytic techniques and ancient samples, such as herbarium specimens, this research field is still relatively unexplored due to the need for improving strategies for aDNA manipulation and exploitation from ancient samples. The higher susceptibility of aDNA to degradation and contamination during herbarium conservation and manipulation and the occurrence of biochemical postmortem damage can result in a more challenging reconstruction of the original DNA sequence. Here, we review the methodological approaches that have been developed for the exploitation of historical herbarium plant materials, such as best practices for aDNA extraction, amplification, and genotyping. We also focus on some strategies to overcome the main problems related to the utilization of herbarium specimens for their exploitation in plant evolutionary studies.

Here we present the approach used to develop the INCREASE "Intelligent Chickpea" Collections, from analysis of the information on the life history and population structure of chickpea germplasm, the availability of genomic and genetic resources, the identification of key phenotypic traits and methodologies to characterize chickpea. We present two phenotypic protocols within H2O20 Project INCREASE to characterize, develop, and maintain chickpea single-seed-descent (SSD) line collections. Such protocols and related genetic resource data from the project will be available for the legume community to apply the standardized approaches to develop Chickpea Intelligent Collections further or for multiplication/seed-increase purposes. © 2022 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Characterization of chickpea seeds for seed-trait descriptors Basic Protocol 2: Characterization of chickpea lines for plant-trait descriptors specific for primary seed increase.

Seeds can harbor a wide range of microorganisms, especially fungi, which can cause different sanitary problems. Seed quality and seed longevity may be drastically reduced by fungi that invade seeds before or after harvest. Seed movement can be a pathway for the spread of diseases into new areas. Some seed-associated fungi can also produce mycotoxins that may cause serious negative effects on humans, animals and the seeds themselves. Seed storage is the most efficient and widely used method for conserving plant genetic resources. The seed storage conditions used in gene banks, low temperature and low seed moisture content, increase seed longevity and are usually favorable for the survival of seed-borne mycoflora. Early detection and identification of seed fungi are essential activities to conserve high-quality seeds and to prevent pathogen dissemination. This article provides an overview of the characteristics and detection methods of seed-borne fungi, with a special focus on their potential effects on gene bank seed conservation. The review includes the following aspects: types of seed-borne fungi, paths of infection and transmission, seed health methods, fungi longevity, risk of pathogen dissemination, the effect of fungi on seed longevity and procedures to reduce the harmful effects of fungi in gene banks.

Well-characterized genetic resources are fundamental to maintain and provide the various genotypes for pre-breeding programs for the production of new cultivars (e.g., wild relatives, unimproved material, landraces). The aim of the current article is to provide protocols for the characterization of the genetic resources of two lupin crop species: the European Lupinus albus and the American Lupinus mutabilis. Intelligent nested collections of lupins derived from homozygous lines (single-seed descent) are being developed, established, and exploited using cutting-edge approaches for genotyping, phenotyping, data management, and data analysis within the INCREASE project (EU Horizon 2020). This will allow us to predict the phenotypic performance of genotyped lines, and will further boost research and development in lupins. Lupins stand out due to their high-quality seed protein (∼40% of seed dry weight) and other primary components in the seeds, which include fatty acids, dietary fiber, and minerals. The potential of lupins as a crop is highlighted by the multiple benefits of plant-based food in terms of food security, nutrition, human health, and sustainable production. The use of lupins in foods, along with other well-studied and widely used food legumes, will also provide a greatly diversified plant-based food palette to meet the Global Goals for Sustainable Development to improve people's lives by 2030. © 2021 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Lupin seed phenotypic descriptors Basic Protocol 2: Lupin seed imaging Basic Protocol 3: Standardized phenotypic characterization of lupin genetic resources grown towards primary seed increase (development of single-seed descent genetic resources).

SUMMARY Food legumes are crucial for all agriculture‐related societal challenges, including climate change mitigation, agrobiodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, food security and human health. The transition to plant‐based diets, largely based on food legumes, could present major opportunities for adaptation and mitigation, generating significant co‐benefits for human health. The characterization, maintenance and exploitation of food‐legume genetic resources, to date largely unexploited, form the core development of both sustainable agriculture and a healthy food system. INCREASE will implement, on chickpea ( Cicer arietinum ), common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ), lentil ( Lens culinaris ) and lupin ( Lupinus albus and L. mutabilis ), a new approach to conserve, manage and characterize genetic resources. Intelligent Collections , consisting of nested core collections composed of single‐seed descent‐purified accessions (i.e., inbred lines), will be developed, exploiting germplasm available both from genebanks and on‐farm and subjected to different levels of genotypic and phenotypic characterization. Phenotyping and gene discovery activities will meet, via a participatory approach, the needs of various actors, including breeders, scientists, farmers and agri‐food and non‐food industries, exploiting also the power of massive metabolomics and transcriptomics and of artificial intelligence and smart tools. Moreover, INCREASE will test, with a citizen science experiment, an innovative system of conservation and use of genetic resources based on a decentralized approach for data management and dynamic conservation. By promoting the use of food legumes, improving their quality, adaptation and yield and boosting the competitiveness of the agriculture and food sector, the INCREASE strategy will have a major impact on economy and society and represents a case study of integrative and participatory approaches towards conservation and exploitation of crop genetic resources.

Genebanks were created by the middle of the twentieth century to preserve cultivated biodiversity when landraces began to be substituted by modern varieties. This move was generally accepted as a necessary step to safeguard the future. After about 75 years of collecting and maintaining genetic resources, the increasing ability of biotechnology to create new variability brings the roles of genebanks in the present and near future into question. As a continuation of several workshops that started in 2014, staff of some representative genebanks have met to discuss how the Spanish Plant Genetic Resources Network can be improved, identifying the following major shortcomings: lack of efficient coordination in the distribution of species among genebanks; too many genebanks; existence of detected and undetected duplicates; insufficient rate of regeneration; insufficient phenotyping, genotyping, and epiphenotyping; unsatisfactory rate of use by end users; and, insufficient funding. As a considerable increase in public funding is unlikely, we propose some strategies to increase the efficiency of the system. The most urgent tasks are to strengthen the rationalization of the network by establishing a clear hierarchy and functions, to improve the information in the base collection by deep characterization including not only phenotypes but also uses and utilities, to progressively replace the active collections with focused core collections constructed to meet users' needs, to optimize regeneration protocols, to limit new collecting expeditions of Spanish crop wild relatives to those growing in threatened habitats, and to develop user-friendly platforms to access germplasm documentation, including a unified system of descriptors and classification categories. Current advances in biotechnology, and especially those in gene editing will have without doubt an impact on the role of genebanks. However, the high number of genes and gene combinations created by evolution they hold cannot be produced by these techniques at present. So, these reservoirs of variability will continue to be indispensable for the near-medium future while the function of all the genes is unveiled. In turn, biotechnologies and gene editing will allow us to take advantage of the information held in genebanks in a more efficient and fast way, contributing to a better rationalization and functioning.

During the last years the consideration of the patents as part of the scientific curriculum has been changing from the activity of technologists and researchers devoted to applied science to a fundamental part of the scientific curriculum of well-known researchers. Some time ago, patents

Trabajo presentado en la IX Reunion Nacional de Fijacion de Nitrogeno, celebrada en Cordoba (Espana), del 7 al 10 de febrero de 2002

Trabajo presentado en el 12th International Congress on Nitrogen Fixation, celebrado en Foz do Iguacu, Parana (Brasil), del 12 al 17 de septiembre de 1999

Tesis llevada a cabo para conseguir el grado de Doctor por la Universidad Politecnica de Madrid.--1998-07-01.--Sobresaliente Cum laude

Trabajo presentado en la VIII Reunion Nacional de Fijacion Biologica de Nitrogeno, celebrada en Pamplona (Espana), en julio de 1998

Trabajo presentado en la XII Reunion Nacional de la SEFV. V Congreso Hispano-Portugues de Fisiologia Vegetal, celebrada en Cordoba (Espana), en septiembre de 1997

Trabajo presentado en la VII Reunion Nacional de Fijacion Biologica de Nitrogeno, celebrada en Salamanca (Espana), en 1996

Trabajo presentado en XI Reunion Nacional de la SEFV. IV Congreso Hispano-Portugues de Fisiologia Vegetal, celebrado en Estoril (Portugal), en octubre de 1995

Las leguminosas del género Lupinus establecen simbiosis con bacterias del género Bradyrhizobium en nódulos indeterminados de tipo lupinoide. En este trabajo se describen el proceso de infección y el desarrollo del primordio nodular, que presentan características poco frecuentes. La infección tiene lugar vía intercelular. Las bacterias invaden la célula subepidérmica bajo el pelo radical, y mediante sucesivas divisiones de las células infectadas y las células no infectadas que las rodean se forma el primordio nodular. La división de las células infectadas es una característica de estos nódulos. Glicoproteínas, MAP-quinasas, aldehído oxidasas, citoesqueleto y genes como el inhibidor mitótico ccs52A están implicados en las etapas iniciales de nodulación y en el desarrollo de los nódulos. Además, se detallan aspectos estructurales y funcionales que caracterizan a los nódulos de altramuz, como son la peculiar corteza y la barrera de resistencia a la difusión de oxígeno. Así mismo, se describe la presencia de la actividad óxido nítrico sintasa, las alteraciones producidas durante la senescencia nodular y la tolerancia de esta simbiosis a diferentes estreses abióticos.