Genetic resources are genetic material of actual or potential value, where genetic material means any material of plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity.
Genetic resources is one of the three levels of
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
defined by the
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...
in Rio, 1992.
Examples
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Animal genetic resources for food and agriculture
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Forest genetic resources Forest genetic resources or forest tree genetic resources are genetic resources (i.e., genetic material of actual or future value) of forest shrub and tree species. Forest genetic resources are essential for forest-depending communities who rely fo ...
*
Germplasm
Germplasm are living genetic resources such as seeds or tissues that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, preservation, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of seed collections stored in seed banks, t ...
, genetic resources that are preserved for various purposes such as breeding, preservation, and research
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Plant genetic resources
See also
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Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources
Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources is a strategy wherein samples of animal genetic materials are preserved cryogenically."Cryoconservation of Animal Genetic Resources", Rep. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, ...
, a strategy to preserve genetic resources cryogenically
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Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the only permanent intergovernmental body that addresses biological diversity for food and agriculture
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, an international agreement to promote sustainable use of the world's plant genetic resources
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Gene bank
Gene banks are a type of biorepository that preserves genetic material. For plants, this is done by in vitro storage, freezing cuttings from the plant, or stocking the seeds (e.g. in a seedbank). For animals, this is done by the freezing of ...
, a type of biorepository which preserves genetic material
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Genetic diversity
*''
The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture''
References
{{reflist
Genetics
Biodiversity