“Does that really date back to the 1940s?” Alois Rainer could scarcely believe that the spike Nils Stein showed him in a long cardboard box in the spike collection actually came from a collecting trip to Greece and was now more than 80 years old. “Such old spikes are still of great importance to science today as reference samples,” explained the head of the Genebank department to the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH) during his visit to Gatersleben. It was no coincidence that his route took him straight to the Genebank with its more than 151,000 samples. Alois Rainer used a meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (WBBGR) in Gatersleben as the occasion for his first visit to the IPK. The board, of which IPK researcher Nils Stein has been a member since 2023, advises the Ministry on all matters relating to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. In the Genebank, the CSU politician thus received first-hand information.

In addition to the seed collection, Nils Stein explained to the Minister the germination testing carried out regularly on the seed. If germination rates fall below a certain threshold over time, the seed must be freshly harvested, and duplicates of the fresh seed are then also sent to the “Global Seed Vault” in Svalbard. 

“You can be proud of being a world leader in plant research,” the Minister emphasised right at the start of his visit. He was also impressed by the Genebank’s cold storage rooms. There, Alois Rainer inspected the collections of wheat and beans and was given an explanation of long-term storage at minus 18 degrees. “The enormous diversity stored in our Genebank is a very precious treasure for breeding because breeding requires great diversity,” emphasised Nils Stein. “What matters now is providing breeders with more and more precise information on the Genebank’s collections. Given the major challenges we face, this will enable breeders to develop the varieties our agriculture urgently needs more quickly and in a more targeted manner.”

However, Nils Stein explained to the minister that substantial investment was required to ensure that the IPK’s Genebank - the largest of its kind in the European Union - could continue to fulfil its vital role in the long term. This applies in particular to the refrigeration systems, some of which are in a critical condition, and to the high-bay racking in the cold stores, which is now outdated. Between 40 and 50 million euros are estimated to be needed for a comprehensive modernisation of the Federal Central Ex situ Genebank, according to the head of the department. 

Alois Rainer expressed his general understanding of the IPK’s concerns and acknowledged the Genebank's particular importance as critical infrastructure for food security. He would therefore take the matter on board, said the Minister, who also served as Chairman of the German Bundestag’s Finance Committee between 2021 and 2025.

The Minister had previously expressed openness to the views of the scientific community and the IPK on ‘new genomic techniques’ (NGTs), including the CRISPR-Cas gene-editing tool. Alois Rainer said that whilst he understood the position of opponents in this highly emotive debate, “But we need to speed up plant breeding, and NGTs can help us with that. I stand by that.” After years of discussion, the European Parliament is expected to vote in June on amendments to European genetic engineering legislation and the possibilities for using NGTs.

Nicolaus von Wirén was also pleased with the Minister’s stance. The Managing Director of the IPK had welcomed the Minister and presented the Institute’s key research areas to him and the Scientific Advisory Board. “We are addressing major global challenges such as climate change and the ongoing loss of biodiversity,” explained Nicolaus von Wirén. Specifically, this involves improving breeding methods, increasing plant performance and resilience, and adapting to climate change.

Thomas Altmann briefed the Federal Minister on the role played by the PhenoSphere as the Institute’s second major research infrastructure. The aim, he said, is to be better able to establish links between a plant’s genetic makeup and its characteristics. “In the PhenoSphere, we not only have the opportunity to simulate field conditions better than ever before, but also to modify them specifically depending on the research question,” said the Head of the Molecular Genetics department. This includes simulating future environmental conditions as predicted by models. “This allows us to determine how well the genetic diversity of the gene bank performs under such future conditions,” said Thomas Altmann.

Further information:

Information on the Scientific Advisory Board (WBBGR):
https://www.bmleh.de/EN/ministry/organisation/advisory-boards/bio-div-organisation.html

Links to the latest Genbank film: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb36prEVImw (short version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_vYiUZhmJo (long version)