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Genetic Resources

Activity goal - contribution to sustainable conservation and utilization of the Latvian agricultural and food plant (incl. fruit crops, vegetables, and lilacs) genetic resources (GR) for future generations in accordance with international commitments of Latvia and expertise of the Institute.

Objectives:

  • To maintain and regularly renew genetic resource collections of horticultural crops;
  • To acknowledge, assess and characterise the ex situ collection of fruit trees, berries, vegetables, and lilacs in Latvia as well as the wild genetic resources, to participate in in situ conservation activities;
  • To maintain the GR data bank of Latvia's fruit crops according to the data exchange requirements for inclusion in the GR information systems nationally and internationally.
  • To promote the utilization of Latvia's horticultural crop GR in breeding, production of traditional food products, development of new uses, etc.
  • To popularise Latvia's horticultural crop genetic resources in the society, promoting their growing and use.

Institute of Horticulture maintains the largest collection of fruit trees, berries, and vegetables in Latvia. Within the three collections of the Institute (in Dobele, Pūre and z/s "Vīnkoki"), more than 6000 accessions of different horticultural crop species are kept, of which 1290 accessions are included in the national genetic resource collection. It should be emphasised that the Institute holds the largest GR collection of lilacs in the Baltics, and it represents almost all cultivars bred in Latvia. The existing collections are continuously updated.

The conservation activities of the GR of fruit crops and vegetables are carried out in close international collaboration. The Institute takes part in ECPGR Malus/ Pyrus, Prunus, Allium and Cucurbitaceae work groups; all national GR data is included in SESTO (NordGen) and EURISCO, as well as in cultivated crop-specific databases. The Institute also takes part, as an associated partner, in the AEGIS initiative, creation of European genetic resource collection.

Research on genetic resources:

The descriptors for evaluation and characterisation of fruit crop genetic resources have been developed for:

The evaluation and characterisation of fruit crop genetic resources using the developed descriptors has been carried out for:

  • apples,
  • raspberries,
  • red currants,
  • gooseberries,
  • sweet and sour cherries,
  • black currants.

 

The molecular genetic passportization of fruit crop genetic resources is provided:

  • methodology development (apples, raspberries, pears, gooseberries, red currants, plums, sour and sweet cherries, black currants);
  • molecular passportization, data analysis (apples, raspberries, gooseberries, red currants, sour and sweet cherries, black currants).

 

Collaboration:

 Genetic Resource Centre of Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava" – molecular marker application, data analysis

 University of Latvia - quantitative genetics methods application

 European Plant Genetic Resources Search Catalogue

 NordGen

 Bioversity International