Biodiversity Conservation - Ex-situ

• It is literally an ‘off site’ conservation policy that involves a couple of techniques linking the transfer of an objective species, experiencing various threats, away from its native habitat to a much safer abode, like in a Botanical Garden, Zoological Garden, Seed Bank or Gene Bank etc. The prime goal of this technique is to adequately backing conservation strategies by guaranteeing the existence of vanishing and threatened taxa/species and the maintenance of allied genetic diversity thereof. It further supports the idea of reintroduction of species in its natural or original habitat as the species under varying threat perception are preserved in safe custody till the casual factors threatening their survival in the wild have been return to normalcy and the reintroduction becomes possible.

Gene Banks 

• Plant genetic resources gene banks store, maintain and reproduce living samples of the world’s huge diversity of crop varieties and their wild relatives. They ensure that the varieties and landraces of the crops and their wild relatives that underpin our food supply are both secure in the long term and available for use by farmers, plant breeders and researchers. 
• Gene banks conserve genetic resources. The most fundamental activity in a gene bank is to treat a new sample in a way that will prolong its viability as long as possible while ensuring its quality. The samples (or accessions as they are called) are monitored to ensure that they are not losing viability. A cornerstone of gene bank operations is the reproductioncalled regeneration-of its plant material. Plant samples must periodically be grown out, regenerated, and new seed harvested because, even under the best of conservation conditions, samples will eventually die. 
• To conserve and regenerate genetic resources, gene banks first must collect genetic resources. But gene banks aren’t built just to conserve genetic resources; they are intended to ensure that these resources are used, whether it is in farmers’ fields, breeding programmes or in research institutions. This means making sure the collections are properly characterized and documented; and that the documentation is available to those who need it. The information systems used by gene banks are becoming increasingly important tools for researchers and breeders seeking data on the distribution of crops and their wild relatives.

National Gene Bank 

• Recently Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished stateof-the-art National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa, New Delhi. 
• The National Gene Bank established in the year 1996 to preserve the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) for future generations, has the capacity to preserve about one million germplasm in the form of seeds. Presently it is protecting 4.52 lakh accessions, of which 2.7 lakh are Indian germplasm and the rest have been imported from other countries. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources is meeting the need of in-situ and ex-situ germplasm conservation through Delhi Headquarters and 10 regional stations in the country.

What Is Cryopreservation? 

• Cryopreservation is a process of using low temperatures to preserve cells and tissues for future use. This technique involves cooling cells to very low temperatures (-80˚C to -196˚C) and suspending their cellular metabolism, which preserves the cells for an indefinite amount of time. When water within cells freezes, the ice formation can cause a solute imbalance and damage the cellular structure. By using proper techniques and a freezing medium containing the right cryoprotectants and additives, researchers can maximize the post-thaw viability of cells for cell culture.

Advantages of Cryopreservation:

• Preserves established and quality-controlled cell lines for future use. 
• Prevention of changes in cellular genetics due to continuous growth and cell passaging. 
• Enables creation of working cell banks—essential for ensuring the long-term use of a cell line with reproducible results— and a source of backup cells in the case of contamination or loss of your cultures. 
• Allows for the safe and convenient shipping of cell lines.

Botanical Gardens

• Botanical gardens and zoos are the most conventional methods of ex-situ conservation, all of which house whole, protected specimens for breeding and reintroduction into the wild when necessary and possible. These facilities provide not only housing and care for specimens of endangered species, but also have an educational value. They inform the public of the threatened status of endangered species and of those factors which cause the threat, with the hope of creating public interest in stopping and reversing those factors which jeopardize a species’ survival in the first place. They are the most publicly visited ex-situ conservation sites.