ADNUAA - Living collections of the GermoLab Botanical Garden

<p>The GermoLab CICY&#39;s mission is to conserve, study, reproduce, and make available plant germplasm from the Yucatán Peninsula, the Mexican tropics, and Mesoamerica, with an emphasis on species related to Maya culture. In fulfillment of this mission, it is associated with a botanical garden that houses specimens of wild and native species with varying categories of use, life forms, conservation statuses, etc.
In search of complementary methods for germplasm conservation, particularly for rare, threatened, and/or classified as recalcitrant species, GermoLab participated in the Global Genome Initiative for Gardens (GGI-Gardens) in 2023. This initiative aims to facilitate the collection of high-quality genomic tissues not represented in biobanks associated with the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN).
GermoLab&#39;s participation in the GGI-BGCI initiative opened up collaboration with the DNA Bank of the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes (ADNUAA) in the Living Collections of the GermoLab Botanical Garden project.
The project aims to document endemic plant genera of the Yucatán Peninsula that are not abundant in the wild, are difficult to conserve, or are classified under protection categories according to the NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. The taxa considered of highest importance belong to the following genera: Acoelorraphe H. Wendl., Alvaradoa Liebm., Diphysa Jacq., Gymnopodium Rolfe, Havardia Small, Loeselia L., Neomillspaughia S.F. Blake, Mammillaria Haw., Myrmecophila Rolfe, and Pseudophoenix H.
The herbarium specimens from the project are housed at the CICY Herbarium, while the genetic material (tissue and extracted DNA) is stored at the ADNUAA.</p>