The Australian plant DNA bank

The Australian Plant DNA Bank (dnabank.com.au) is an innovative approach to ex-situ preservation of genetic material from plants. The bank is a unique facility, which will extract and store plant DNA. The genetic material from plants provides endless information about each species and this is largely unexplored. Genomic DNA will be available to groups, on request, for research into gene discovery and function; marker development and detailed genotypic characterisation of plant varieties. For economically important crop species (eg. agricultural crops and forestry) the strategy is to include representatives from each species and/or variety. For other species, eg. native flora, it will be useful in preserving representative genetic information, exploring genetic diversity, development of conservation strategies and research into gene discovery. For these species, generally a limited number of individuals will be represented for each taxon. However, where possible collections will represent the full extent of their distribution eg. Melaleuca alternifolia, and for rare species every individual eg. Eidothea hardeniana, Eleocarpus williamsianus, Fontanea oraria.