Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture: opportunities and challenges emerging from the science and information technology revolution

Abstract

Contents Summary1407I.Introduction1408II.Technological advances and their utility for gene banks and breeding, and longer‐term contributions to SDGs1408III.The challenges that must be overcome to realise emerging R&D opportunities1410IV.Renewed governance structures for PGR (and related big data)1413V.Access and benefit sharing and big data1416VI.Conclusion1417Acknowledgements1417ORCID1417References1417 Summary Over the last decade, there has been an ongoing revolution in the exploration, manipulation and synthesis of biological systems, through the development of new technologies that generate, analyse and exploit big data. Users of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) can potentially leverage these capacities to significantly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their efforts to conserve, discover and utilise novel qualities in PGR, and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This review advances the discussion on these emerging opportunities and discusses how taking advantage of them will require data integration and synthesis across disciplinary, organisational and international boundaries, and the formation of multi‐disciplinary, international partnerships. We explore some of the institutional and policy challenges that these efforts will face, particularly how these new technologies may influence the structure and role of research for sustainable development, ownership of resources, and access and benefit sharing. We discuss potential responses to political and institutional challenges, ranging from options for enhanced structure and governance of research discovery platforms to internationally brokered benefit‐sharing agreements, and identify a set of broad principles that could guide the global community as it seeks or considers solutions.

The status of patenting plants in the Global South

“…A situation of particular interest, from the perspective of patent laws and access and benefit‐sharing regimes, arises when a claimed plant‐related invention has been obtained on the basis of digitised genetic information (Bagley, 2016; Halewood et al, 2018). This is made possible by what is termed the “dematerialisation of genetic resources” (Bhatti, 2013).…”

2017 Frank Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources Lecture: Stewards of Our Agricultural Future

“…Today, the NPGS's PGR information management system, the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)-Global (Byrne et al, 2018), serves the needs of PGR stewards in nine different nations and is poised to become the international standard for PGR information management. A combination of incremental progress and periodically disruptive technological innovations (e.g., the personal computer and the World Wide Web; Halewood et al, 2018) has characterized the evolution of PGR information management systems such as GRIN-Global and Genesys, a website that aggregates information from GRIN-Global and other databases to facilitate PGR distribution (Genesys, 2018).…”

“…These "mixed technologies" are needed to handle the remarkable diversity in PGR propagule size, shape, weight, and physiological behavior (Widrlechner, 1997). The currently vast amount of information associated with PGR will grow ever more voluminous in the future (Halewood et al, 2018) and in turn increase the value of the PGR (Day Rubenstein et al, 2006). Similarly, systems of environmental sensors and digital cameras have helped safeguard PGR field plantings.…”

“…Technological innovations (Halewood et al, 2018) might magnify the impact of such networks. Technological innovations (Halewood et al, 2018) might magnify the impact of such networks.…”

“…It also requires concerted actions among sometimes divergent institutions and individuals where human organizational and sociological factors come into play (Halewood et al, 2018). It also requires concerted actions among sometimes divergent institutions and individuals where human organizational and sociological factors come into play (Halewood et al, 2018).…”