Genebank 2.0 - WGS

The great efforts spent in the maintenance of past diversity in genebanks are rationalized by the potential role of plant genetic resources (PGR) in future crop improvement. A trait-customized core collection with a 3-fold increased proportion of yellow rust resistant wheat PGR as compared with the entire German Federal ex situ genebank at IPK Gatersleben, was compiled by Schulthess et al. 2022. Two hundred sixty-one PGR samples trace back to single representative ears isolated in the field from individual PGR during seed multiplication, while two ears were isolated in case of one clearly non-homogenous PGR, summing up to 263 PGR samples. PGR are diverse and expand the diversity existent in the European breeding genepool, which is represented by 191 modern cultivars and 131 breeding lines. The 585 wheat samples were whole genome shotgun paired-end sequenced (WGS) using a NovaSeq 6000 system and an average genome coverage of 3-fold. Libraries were prepared using the Nextera DNA Flex Library Prep according to Illumina protocols and pooled afterwards in an equimolar manner. Passport data for these samples were collected from different sources by Schulthess et al. 2022.