The Gross Luesewitz Potato Collections of the IPK Gene Bank (GLKS)

IPK’s collection of potato germplasm is based at the Groß Lüsewitz site, which until 1992 was administered by the Institute for Potato Research (IfK), founded in 1949. After the reunification of Germany, the GLKS became a part of the IPK Federal Ex situ Gene Bank. The collection currently numbers almost 6,300 accessions, of which >2,800 are named cultivars (the KKS), 510 are short-day adapted materials, spanning seven species, collected from the Andean region or around the Equator (the AKS), and >2,950 are accessions of >130 wild and cultivated Solanum species collected in South and Central America (the WKS).

Most of the AKS and KKS accessions are propagated in vitro, although some accessions are also grown in the field for the purpose of phenotypic evaluation, the control of genetic purity and to generate tubers. In addition, some materials are subjected to cryopreservation, conducted at IPK by the Cryo and Stress Biology Research Group based at Gatersleben. The WKS accessions are seed-propagated from greenhouse-grown plants and the resulting seed is divided between IPK Gene Bank’s 4°C storage facility or the Malchow site on the Baltic Sea island of Poel and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Spitzbergen.

In cooperation with the Julius Kuehn Institute in Groß Lüsewitz and Kleinmachnow and BTL Bio-Test Labor GmbH, screens for resistance are conducted against the pathogens Phytophthora infestans and Synchytrium endobioticum, and the nematode Globodera pallida. These data are available on the internet or by request.

With the help of the relevant Plant Protection Office, the entire collection is tested systematically and on a regular basis for the presence of quarantinable diseases. Special measures are applied to in vitro grown plantlets in order to avoid viral infection. Note that when requesting tubers produced by field-grown plants, the occurrence of potato virus S and potato virus X is tolerated.

Private requests for cultivated germplasm will be accommodated exclusively with tubers (neither in vitro grown plantlets nor cryo cultures can be supplied). A list of all of the available tuber samples is provided in our "Tuber List". Every request for materials (including germplasm from the Malchow collection) must be accompanied by a materials transfer agreement: our standard agreement can be completed online, but a hard copy version is also acceptable. Please note that since July 2016, all germplasm requests from the IPK Gene Bank attract a handling fee.

Partial access to passport and evaluation data is available on the internet through the GBIS homepage.

The oilseed and fodder crop collection at Malchow/Poel (SÖF)

The Malchow site specialises in oilseed and fodder crop species, reflecting nearly a century of breeding and research in these crops.

The collection comprises almost 15,000 accessions originating from 90 countries, spanning 150 species and 16 genera; of these 11,000 belong to the Gramineae, 2,700 to the Cruciferae and 1,300 to the Leguminosae. Following European regeneration standards, materials are multiplied in isolation plots or small greenhouses in the field or in greenhouse cabins.

The germplasm is preserved as seed stored at -5°C for the active collection and at -20°C for the base collection. Safety duplicates have been deposited at IPK Gatersleben since 2000, and at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault since 2008. Germination is monitored periodically.

For the purpose of characterisation or evaluation, a subset of the collection is cultivated annually, either as individual plants or in rows, with priority being given to newly acquired materials, particularly of the Gramineae species.A particular emphasis is placed on the characterisation of key morphological and breeding traits in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne).

Assessing the disease resistance, drought tolerance and end-use quality of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is carried out in collaboration with various university institutes and the Julius Kuehn Institute. Much of these data, along with passport data, are available over the internet at GBIS and EURISCO or by request, and are being used by various researchers as the basis for targeted selection.