Germplasm center preserves plant, animal species

FORT COLLINS – Consider the consequences of a disease that could wipe out an entire breed of cattle. The results would be devastating. Cow/calf producers, feedlot operators and ranchers would be forced to move into another breed – one with less desirable attributes.

Now, imagine being able to bring the breed back from extinction. Thanks to the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, formerly known as the National Seed Storage Laboratory, this idea is now a possibility.

The center, located on the grounds of Colorado State University, is the central depository of the U.S. Agricultural Research Service. The Agricultural Research Service is the research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has about 100 locations across the United States.

The center holds the germplasm, or reproductive cells of plants and animals, and stores the cells, seeds, fruit buds or growth tissue. Nearly half a million germplasm samples – in a variety of temperatures ranging from minus 320 degrees to 0 degrees Fahrenheit – are stored there.

Conceived in the 1940s by the Academy of Science, organizers selected Fort Collins as the home for the center because of its dry climate. Construction started in 1956, after years of deliberation and decision making.

“At that time there was not a lot known about the long-term storage of seeds,´ said Harry Shands, NCGRP director. “They knew the dry climate and such was good. And we had two experiment stations in Fort Collins and in Laramie (Wyo.).”

The idea of preserving seed cryogenically emerged in the 1970s. Researchers were looking for a way to preserve seeds for longer time period using liquid nitrogen. In theory, if all respiratory processes are arrested while in storage they will store for a longer period of time. Shands said we might not know how long the seeds can be preserved, because they most likely will last well beyond our lifetimes.

The quality of the seed and the type of seed or other genetic material will determine how successful and the length of time material can be stored in the liquid nitrogen.

Shands said he has received grief from others for storing the seeds of what many consider to be weeds, but he said his belief is not to make decisions about the fate of what should be kept or not.

“We are not in a good position to make a decision … and everything may have a potential purpose,” Shands said. “I feel that if it is not a major thing for us to store them, in the future they may say it was a good thing for us to store it. If not, they can get rid of it.”

In 1999 the National Animal Germplasm Program moved in with the National Seed Storage Laboratory to share infrastructure. The animal germplasm program is headed by Harvey Blackburn who has been critical to the center’s success in gathering a variety of animal germplasm. The center now holds germplasm for chickens, sheep goats, swine and dairy and beef cattle.

In one of its liquid nitrogen vats, the center has sperm collected from dairy Holsteins, which is important for current genetic diversity.

“We are currently looking at how much does it take and how do we deal with getting that volume and getting the diversity we would like to have to replace an entire breed,” Shands said. “We are looking at what kind of a role we could play in replacing an entire breed in the face of a devastating disease.”

Kim Lock is the agriculture reporter for the Northern Colorado Business Report. To suggest column ideas contact her at (970) 221-5400 ext. 222 or at klock@ncbr.com

on Facebook on LinkedIn