The Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change Project set out to improve the diversity, quantity, and accessibility of germplasm collections of crop wild relatives (CWR). Between 2013 and 2018, partners in 25 countries, heirs to the globetrotting legacy of Nikolai Vavilov, undertook seed collecting expeditions targeting CWR of 28 crops of global significance for agriculture. Here, we describe the implementation of the 25 national collecting programs and present the key results. A total of 4587 unique seed samples from at least 355 CWR taxa were collected, conserved ex situ, safety duplicated in national and international genebanks, and made available through the Multilateral System (MLS) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Plant Treaty). Collections of CWR were made for all 28 targeted crops. Potato and eggplant were the most collected genepools, although the greatest number of primary genepool collections were made for rice. Overall, alfalfa, Bambara groundnut, grass pea and wheat were the genepools for which targets were best achieved. Several of the newly collected samples have already been used in pre-breeding programs to adapt crops to future challenges.

Potato is an important crop in the genus Solanum section Petota. Potatoes are susceptible to multiple abiotic and biotic stresses and have undergone constant improvement through breeding programs worldwide. Introgression of wild relatives from section Petota with potato is used as a strategy to enhance the diversity of potato germplasm. The current dataset contributes a phased genome assembly for diploid S. okadae, and short read sequences and de novo assemblies for the genomes of 16 additional wild diploid species in section Petota that were noted for stress resistance and were of interest to potato breeders. Genome sequence data for three additional genomes representing polyploid hybrids with cultivated potato, and an additional genome from non-tuberizing S. etuberosum, which is outside of section Petota, were also included. High quality short reads assemblies were achieved with genome sizes ranging from 575 to 795 Mbp and annotations were performed utilizing transcriptome sequence data. Genomes were compared for presence/absence of genes and phylogenetic analyses were carried out using plastome and nuclear sequences.

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT curates the world’s largest cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) germplasm collection, held at its Future Seeds genebank in Cali, Colombia. Since first collection expeditions in 1969, a primary focus was to assemble and conserve the diversity from the crop’s center of origin in the American tropics. Later additions expanded representation from Asia and Africa as secondary centers of diversity. The collection consists mainly of landraces (about 5000 accessions), bred lines from CIAT (375) and from partner institutions (253), and related wild Manihot (377 accessions from 23 species or subspecies). Secure conservation, first as a field collection and then in a slow-growth in vitro system, gave priority to pathogen testing and methods to assure successful clonal propagation over many generations. Cryopreservation research is ongoing to achieve additional security and efficiency. CIAT extensively characterized accessions through morphological, biochemical and molecular criteria. As a core goal, the collection has been a foundation for genetic improvement of the crop globally. The paper provides perspectives on the future management and use of the collection in the context of the recently established Future Seeds genebank facilities at CIAT, and new tools and technologies that support more effective conservation, evaluation and use.

Improved varieties strengthen cassava’s roles as both a food security staple and a versatile industrial raw material across the tropical regions where it is produced. In support of this effort the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) curates the world’s largest cassava germplasm collection at its Cali, Colombia, research center. Since the first collection expeditions in 1969, a primary focus was to assemble and conserve the diversity from the crop’s center of origin in the American tropics. Later additions expanded representation from Asia and Africa as secondary centers of diversity. The collection now consists mainly of landraces (about 5000 accessions), bred lines from CIAT (375) and from partner institutions (253), and related wild Manihot (377 accessions from 23 species or subspecies). Landrace diversity originated and evolved almost entirely through occasional farmer selections from seed-derived plants, which were subsequently conserved clonally over many generations. Secure ex situ conservation, first as a field collection and then in a slow-growth in vitro system, gave priority to pathogen testing and reliable culture and exchange methods. Cryopreservation research is ongoing to achieve added security and efficiency. CIAT extensively characterizes accessions through morphological, biochemical and molecular criteria. As a core goal, the collection has been a foundation for genetic improvement of the crop globally. This paper provides perspectives on the future management and use of the collection in the context of the recently established Future Seeds genebank facilities in Colombia, and new tools and technologies that support more effective conservation, evaluation and use.