Tuscia Germoplasm Bank

Tuscia Germplasm Bank

The Tuscia Germplasm Bank (BGT), established in December 2005, is a research facility of the “Nello Lupori” Teaching and Experimental Farm, located within the premises of the Tuscia Botanical Garden. Thanks to the work of Dr. Sara Magrini, over the years the BGT has been institutionally dedicated to the long-term ex situ conservation of germplasm (mainly seeds or spores) of endemic, rare, or threatened species of the Italian flora, with a particular focus on dune species, wild orchids, and ferns.

The Germplasm Bank is the only Italian seed bank, and one of the very few in Europe, that conserves seeds of wild orchids (more than 340 seed-lots of ca. 110 taxa), among them some endangered species like Dactylorhiza elata (Poir.) Soó subsp. sesquipedalis (Willd.) Soó, Platanthera kuenkelei H.Baumann, Anacamptis palustris (Jacq.) R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W.Chase, Limodorum trabutianum Batt. Moreover, it is among the few European facilities dealing with conservation (ca. 150 spore accessions of 60 species) and reproduction of wild fern, among them the threatened Isoetes sabatina Troia & Azzella, Phyllitis sagittata (DC.) Guinea & Heywood, Dryopteris tyrrhena Fraser-Jenk. & Reichst., and Woodwardia radicans (L.) Sm. 

At the BGT, dozens of Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD theses have been supervised over the years by Dr. Sara Magrini, on issues relating to the conservation of biodiversity (seed ecophysiology, germination ecology, resistance to water stress, resilience to climate change, the impact of alien species on dune species, seed longevity during storage, etc.).

The Germplasm Bank is a founder member of RIBES – the Italian Network of germplasm banks for Ex Situ Conservation of wild flora (http://www.reteribes.it), a scientific association currently made up of 18 similar institutions throughout Italy, and an associate member of GENMEDA, the Network of Mediterranean Plant Conservation Centres (http://www.genmeda.net/). Moreover, it is a member of the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK; https://www.kew.org/wakehurst/whats-at-wakehurst/millennium-seed-bank) and the network OSSSU – Orchid Seed Sciences for Sustainable Use.

The Germplasm Bank is a partner of the recently funded European project LIFE SEEDFORCE (2021-2026) and of the POR-FESR project RIVALSA, funded by Regione Lazio (2021-2023). Some other research projects concerning ex situ conservation and in vitro reproduction of orchids, ferns and other species have been funded by several nature parks, like Parco Nazionale del Circeo, Parco Nazionale della Maiella, Parco Regionale Bracciano-Martignano, Parco Regionale Marturanum, Parco della Vena del Gesso Romagnola, Ente di Gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità–Romagna, Parco dei Colli Euganei.

INFORMATION

Banca del Germoplasma della Tuscia – Azienda Agraria Didattico-Sperimentale “Nello Lupori”

Università della Tuscia

Responsabile delegato per lo SMA: Prof. Giuseppe Colla

Largo dell’Università s.n.c., Blocco C, Viterbo

Tel: 0761 357091 

E-mail: banca.germoplasma@unitus.it