This paper addresses the genetic resources, domestication and breeding history of spinach as a comprehensive review of these crop aspects is currently unavailable. It is shown that the availability of genetic resources of wild relatives belonging to the primary gene pool is currently very limited, which hampers breeding and research activities. Therefore, new collecting expeditions are clearly warranted. The domestication of spinach is discussed on the basis of its presumed migration routes and the traits that were probably involved in the domestication syndrome. Spinach is thought to have domesticated in former Persia. Migration then occurred eastwards to China and westwards to Europe, but additional genetic data are needed to reveal the most likely migration routes. Morphological changes in pistillate flowers and loss of dormancy are identified as the main traits involved in the domestication syndrome of spinach. To a large extent we could re-construct the relationships between spinach cultivars that were developed until the 1950s, but this appeared difficult for the more recent cultivars due to intellectual property protection by breeding companies. Resistance against downy mildew has been the main breeding target in spinach. The introgression of NBS-LRR resistance genes from wild relatives is the major strategy to develop downy mildew resistant cultivars. However, the use of loss-of-function alleles of susceptibility genes may provide a more durable strategy to develop resistant cultivars. So far, abiotic resistance and quality traits have received minor attention in spinach research and breeding. This is expected to change considering the potential effects of climate change on these traits.

A highly informative set of 16 microsatellite markers was used to fingerprint 695 apple accessions from eight Dutch collections. Among the total sample, 475 different genotypes were distinguished based on multi-locus microsatellite variation, revealing a potential redundancy within the total sample of 32%. The majority of redundancies were found between collections, rather than within collections. No single collection covered the total observed diversity well, as each collection consisted of about 50% of unique accessions. These findings reflected the fact that most collection holders focus on common Dutch varieties, as well as on region-specific diversity. Based on the diversity patterns observed, maintenance of genetic resources by a network of co-operating collection holders, rather than by collecting the total diversity in a single collection appears to be an efficient approach. Comparison of microsatellite and passport data showed that for many accessions the marker data did not provide support for the registered variety names. Verification of accessions showed that discrepancies between passport and molecular data were largely due to documentation and phenotypic determination errors. With the help of the marker data the varietal names of 45 accessions could be corrected. Microsatellite genotyping of apple appears to be an efficient tool in the management of collections and in variety identification. The development of a marker database was considered relevant as a reference instrument in variety identification and as a source of information about thus far unexplored diversity that could be of interest in the development of new apple varieties.

Lettuce, spinach and chicory are generally considered the main leafy vegetables, while a fourth group denoted by ‘minor leafy vegetables’ includes, amongst others, rocket salad, lamb’s lettuce, asparagus, artichoke and rhubarb. Except in the case of lettuce, central crop databases of leafy vegetables were lacking until recently. Here we report on the update of the international Lactuca database and the development of three new central crop databases for each of the other leafy vegetable crop groups. Requests for passport data of accessions available to the user community were addressed to all known European collection holders and to the main collection holders located outside Europe. Altogether, passport data of 17,530 accessions from a total of 129 collections were collected. The four separate databases were made available on line via a common entry page accessible at http://documents.plant.wur.nl/cgn/pgr/LVintro/. Based on a literature study, an analysis of the gene pool structure of the crops was performed and an inventory was made of the distribution areas of the species involved. The results of these surveys were related to the contents of the newly established databases in order to identify the main collection gaps. Priorities are presented for future germplasm acquisition aimed at improving the coverage of the crop gene pools in ex situ collections.

Advances in sequencing technologies have made it possible to analyse large amounts of germplasm against low production costs, which has opened the door to screen genebank collections more efficiently for DNA sequence variation. The present study explores how these developments may affect the operations of genebanks and, consequently, how genebank agendas may change. It is argued that the new developments are more likely to have an impact on the user-oriented activities than the housekeeping operations of genebanks. To better facilitate the user community, genebanks may have to strengthen their core business, in particular, by improving quality management procedures and by providing access to a wider diversity of a crop's gene pool. In addition, genebanks may have to provide novel services, such as the introduction of specific user-oriented collection types, including research populations and genetically purified lines, and the development of novel information services, including plant genetic resources portals that should guide users to the information and materials of specific interest. To improve their user-oriented services, genebanks need to increase their communication and collaboration with the user community and to develop strategic alliances with this sector.