Our Mission: Acquire, assess, preserve, and provide genetic resources

1. NPGS ACCESSION SOURCES WELCOME NATIONAL CENTER for GENETIC RESOURCES PRESERVATION • Half a century of live material preservation - resting on the foundation of world-class research. • Our Mission: • Acquire, assess, • preserve, and provide • genetic resources • Secure biological • diversity for sustainable • agriculture and a • changing world • Combine high quality • research with the best • possible stewardship • Our History: • NATIONAL SEED STORAGE LABORATORY opened • Total square footage: 16,000 Vault square footage: 4220 • 1959 First seed shipments arrived • Vault temperature lowered from +5oC to -18oC • Seed samples moved from screw top jars to heat sealed bags • Southeast garage converted to cryo lab. • 1988 Southeast corner annex added for cryo storage: 1680 sq. ft. • Routine cryogenic seed storage implemented. • Optimal relative humidity protocols implemented for seed • storage • 1991 Bar coding implemented • Major renovation: new storage vaults and laboratories added, • Active vault square footage: • 6860 high density conventional, 5230 cryogenic • Dormant bud cryostorage implemented • 1999 National Animal Germplasm Program added • Name changed to NCGRP to reflect the addition of animal • germplasm, vegetatively propagated materials, and microbes. • Management of the three units within the Center were • merged. • Second Floor vault expansion in progress, increasing • conventional storage from 6,860 to 10,000 square ft. Published research papers during the past 50 years:498 • National Plant Germplasm System materials • stored at NCGRP as of July 2008: • Seed samples: 501,513 • Vegetatively propagated samples: 4757 • Number of species: 6968 • Additional materials stored: • Collections from other international • genebanks • Threatened and endangered species • Special collections from non-governmental • organizations NPGS REPOSITORIES Basement 1958 original building National Animal Germplasm Program materials stored at NCGRP as of July 2008: Species: cattle, swine, poultry, sheep, goats, fish Total subspecies/breeds: 164 Number of animals: 9722 Units of germplasm: 477,388 1988 cryo annex 1992 addition Directors: 1958-1970 Dr. Edwin James 1970-1986 Dr. Louis Bass 1986-1987 (acting): Doris Clark 1987-2000 Dr. Steve Eberhart 2000-2006 Dr. Henry Shands 2006-present (acting): Drs. Harvey Blackburn, David Ellis, Christina Walters