Seed Biobank

A controlled environment facility for the secure storage and cataloguing of plant genetic resources. These facilities support IBERS’s world-renowned plant breeding programmes, enabling the development of new plant varieties and maintenance of many commercial plant varieties.

The Biobank – One of the largest ex-situ collections in the world on forage and amenity grasses, clovers, oats, and the bioenergy crop Miscanthus. The state-of-the-art seedbank facility, a £7m investment from Aberystwyth University, BBSRC and the Welsh Government, currently holds over 35,000 accessions for medium (20-50 years) to long-term (100 years) storage for research and breeding. An integral asset for the UK Plant Genetic Resources Group (UKPGR) collections and the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR), the Biobank also possesses one of the few quarantine facilities in the UK that can accommodate imported plants which require phytosanitary observations and control. All collections since 1992 are compliant with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefits Sharing (ABS) for utilisation and commercialisation.

Crop seed processing – Bulk seed store (10°C and 20% relative humidity - capable of holding over 150 pallets of seed) for large pre-commercial seed lots, along with a separate store for dried, pre-cleaned seed. It also includes a laboratory for germination testing and seed analysis and the main seed processing area, where cleaning of lots ranging in size from a few grammes to 10 tonnes is carried out in line with International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) guidelines.

Find out more about the Seed Biobank's specifications and an enquiry form via this page's sidebar.