Report of Committee on Maintainance of Genetic Stocks in Wheat

A resolution at the First International Wheat Genetic Symposium established a committee to organize and co - ordinate a system for maintaining, on a voluntary basis, wheat stocks of known genetic constitution and arrange for a suitable means of recording and disseminating the information.

Many of the wheat workers throughout the world interested in genetic stocks are breeders and their primary interest is in varietal phenotypes and their preservation. Genetic studies often are by - products of their breeding programs. Only a few workers devote their entire time to wheat genetic and cytogenetic problems. This makes it important that some method of prservation of gerietic stocks be organized so that factors already reported upon are available for study by people working on the same characters.

The committee recommended at the Second International Wheat Genetic Symposium that:

1) Wheat workers voluntarily agree to maintain viable seed of genetic factors reported upon and cytogenetic stocks available and that the list of these genetic stocks be currently published in the Wheat Information Service. This information will also be published in the Wheat Newsletter and distributed by F A O.

2) Stock lists of species and genera of Triticum and Aegilops (and other related genera) be published. WIS has already done this and will continue to do so.

3) Only 10-15 seeds be supplied to other research worker of each stock. Discussion concerning the time and expense involved in maintaining such stocks suggested some charge be made for each stock as is done with the American Type Cultures. However, because of the probable small charge and number of countries involved this item could not be resolved. Those requesting seed stocks should be conservative in their requests.

4) The commitee should locate some adequate storage facilities in which to keep these genetic stocks. This would assure (in most cases) that the stocks were stored in duplicate. The stocks placed in such storage would not be used for general distribution.

5) Symbols assigned to characters should closely follow the reports of the International Committee on Genetic Symbols and Nomenclature of the Permanent International Committee for Genetics Congresses.

In order to avoid assigning the same symbol to different characters, or the same subscript number, some consideration should be made in the future toward some standard procedure of assigning symbols in wheat.

Those who will maintain genetic stocks, should list their materials along with the published references and send the informations to E. G. HEYNE, Waters Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, U. S. A.

The committee members:

E. G: HEYNE, Chairman
K. YAMASHITA
R. G. ANDERSON
R. RILEY
B. C. JENKINS