DiSSCo-ITINERIS Metadata Catalog

The Mediterranean Germplasm Database (MGD) is the digital twin of the agri-food plant seed collection (Mediterranean Germplasm Genebank - MGG) maintained at the Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) in Bari, Italy. Overall, the collection preserves more than 59,000 accessions of 870 species from 203 genera and 39 families (mainly Poaceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Brassicaceae, Asteraceae, etc.). Over 13,000 samples have been collected over time and georeferenced by IBBR exploration teams, while others have been acquired from other Institutions through exchange activities.

The main objective of MGG is to preserve the genetic resources of herbaceous plants of interest for Mediterranean agriculture. Particular attention is dedicated to specific segments of plant genetic resources, such as local varieties (including "typical products") or endangered agroecotypes, wild relatives of crops, and plants potentially useful for extracting bioactive or biotechnological compounds. The main commitments of MGG since 1970 are (i) the collection, conservation, and distribution of PGR; (ii) the characterization and evaluation of PGRs and the analysis of their genetic structure; (ii) the selection and pre-breeding of PGR, and the recognition of useful genes.

The seed bank is endowed with refrigerated rooms at 4 °C, 0 °C, and -20 °C, where more than 14,700 kg of seeds are currently stored.

Name: Mediterranean Germplasm Genebank (MGG)
Identifier: https://www.gbif.org/grscicoll/collection/15ae67ae-82f3-449a-9e78-c336989b8f90
Specimen Preservation Method: DRIED

ITINERIS - Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructures System || BIOMEMORY Project

Identifier: PNRR Project IR0000032 || CNR-DiSBA no. SAC.AD002.173

Content: ITINERIS - Activity 6.5 "Mining and mapping the functional biodiversity in vivo and ex-situ research collections" - This activity aims to provide biodiversity (meta)data linked to Natural Science Collections (NSC) in terms of extended digital specimens fully linked to related information (e.g.. images and videos, codification of functional traits, DNA and protein sequences, environmental parameters, etc.). The expected outcome of the activity is the implementation of a national network of biological research collections, including all the existing in vivo and ex-situ collections of biological organisms (animals, plants, fungi, algae, archaea, bacteria, viruses, etc.) that have been created and maintained through past and current research projects. || Bio Memory (CNR-DiSBA Project No. SAC.AD002.173) is the network of biological collections of the Department of Biology, Agriculture and Food Sciences (DiSBA) of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) for bio-monitoring, biodiversity conservation, agri-food and environmental sustainability, and human well-being. The project aims to create a network of biobanks (i.e., scientific research collections) where data and metadata associated with biological samples of different natures are collected and stored systematically and well-organized.

Funding: PNRR project IR0000032 - ITINERIS, Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructures System - CUP B53C22002150006 (D.D. n. 130/2022) Funded by the EU - Next Generation EU - Mission 4 “Education and Research” - Component 2: “From research to business” - Investment 3.1: “Fund for the realisation of an integrated system of research and innovation infrastructures” || Bio Memory (CNR-DiSBA Project No. SAC.AD002.173) - The Italian network of biological collections for bio-monitoring, biodiversity conservation, agri-food and environmental sustainability, and human well-being.