In a world in a perpetual movement and development, often too little controlled, rescuing and conservation of genetic resources, protection of life, becomes, every day, more and more urgent. In this race of humankind, animal species and especially plant varieties are getting lost, even before they could be known, and probably with them, the hope for tomorrow will die.
Hence, the critical need for conservation of plant genetic resources in almost all countries, regardless of their level of development, only the technical possibilities of approach are different. In a very short time, traditional methods of preservation (i.e. collections of botanical gardens, nature reserves), were replaced or complemented by modern systems of conservation the various forms of sexual and vegetative reproductive material in the gene banks.
Scientists and those acting in political and legislative areas have become aware of the need for the collection, evaluation and conservation of germplasm, in the first line coming local population, followed by crop wild relatives, all being considered potential sources of genes for the getting new, modern varieties that meet the users’ changing requirements.
In Romania, plant biodiversity is preserved by combining the elements belonging to those two conservation strategies, in situ and ex situ, each of them having distinct advantages and disadvantages, and a complementary role.
The relevant institution for ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture is Gene Bank in Suceava, that was established to answer the need to maintain, under safe conditions, the national genetic fund with known features, and to make it easily accessible for breeding and research activities, as well as, for the reintroduction to farms after certain varieties have been lost, due to natural or anthropogenic causes.