Genesys
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| Kept by | Crop Trust |
|---|---|
| First published | 2011 |
| What it holds | Genebank accessions |
| Covers | Worldwide |
| Entries | 4,543,402 |
|---|---|
| Cannabis entries | 2,151 |
| Counted | 13 November 2026 |
| Data licence | Own termsUse allowed; passing the data on to others is not |
|---|---|
| Access | Open |
| Website | genesys-pgr.org |
Genesys is an online portal that brings together the passport data of gene bank accessions held in collections around the world, so that they can be searched in one place. The Crop Trust has managed it since 2013.[2] On 13 November 2026 it listed 4,543,402 accessions, not counting historic records of material that gene banks no longer keep.[3][4] Of these, 2,151 belonged to the genus Cannabis.[5]
Management and funding
Genesys is paid for from the Crop Trust's Crop Diversity Endowment Fund, to which national governments are the largest contributors.[6] Donors to CGIAR also supported it through the CGIAR Genebank Platform from 2013 to 2021.[7] Its partners include the FAO's World Information and Early Warning System on plant genetic resources (WIEWS) and the Global Information System of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The Crop Trust calls Genesys a major component of that system.[2]
The Treaty, adopted in 2001, acknowledged the need for a system through which breeders, farmers and researchers could share genetic information. Bioversity International, the Treaty's Secretariat and the Crop Trust began to develop Genesys in 2008 with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The first portal opened in 2011 with data from three gene bank networks: the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR), the CGIAR gene banks and the USDA. In 2012 a task force, later the Genesys Advisory Committee, recommended that the Crop Trust become the legal entity responsible for the portal. A version released in 2015 let partner institutes update their own data continuously.[7]
How data reach Genesys
Gene banks, institutes and networks publish their own data on Genesys under a data provider agreement with the Crop Trust.[6][8] The ECPGR catalogues about two million accessions from hundreds of European gene banks and research centres. The CGIAR gene banks update almost 800,000 passport records each year. Providers are asked to update their data at least once a year. Only material kept in gene banks is included: breeding material appears only when it belongs to a gene bank collection.[6] Gene banks that run GRIN-Global, gene bank software written by the United States Department of Agriculture, often send their passport data on to Genesys.[9][10] In May 2026 the portal passed 4.5 million accessions after the national gene bank of Pakistan added 40,131.[11]
The data follow the Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors (MCPD), a standard of the FAO and Bioversity.[4] An accession can be registered with no more than its accession number, its genus and the WIEWS code of the institute that holds it.[6] Genesys adds fields of its own to the standard: a web address for the accession, whether it can be requested, its type of curation and whether the record is historic. A gene bank marks a record historic when the material has left its collection. The record is kept, because the material may still be held elsewhere, but it cannot be requested.[4]
Searching and requests
Genesys is free to use and to join. Anyone can search it without an account. Downloading data as a spreadsheet, searching for similar accessions, viewing the history of changes to passport data and using the programming interface need a free user account.[6] Where a gene bank has enabled requests, Genesys passes a user's request for seed or other material on to it. Supply is subject to legal and phytosanitary conditions and to each gene bank's own policy. Most gene banks send small amounts, for research only.[6][7]
Terms of use
The terms of use, dated 23 February 2014, grant a worldwide, royalty-free licence to use the data for any lawful purpose. The licence is perpetual but revocable. It is neither exclusive nor transferable. The terms forbid copying or republishing the portal's contents, in full or in substantial part, in a way that would unreasonably harm the Crop Trust's interests or compete with the portal. Users may not pass the data on to others and must send new users to the portal instead. They must acknowledge the sources of the data and keep any notices that come with it. A breach ends the licence at once. The Crop Trust may take any dispute to binding arbitration in Bonn under the UNCITRAL Rules.[8]
Cannabis accessions
The 2,151 Cannabis accessions listed on 13 November 2026 were held by gene banks in Ukraine (610), the United States (569), Russia (491), Hungary (121), Poland (90), Romania (76) and Germany (56), with smaller numbers elsewhere.[5] The largest holders were the Plant Genetic Resources Unit of the National Plant Germplasm System at Geneva, New York (569), the Institute of Bast Crops in Ukraine (495) and the Vavilov Institute in Russia (491).[5][12][13][14] The Institute of Bast Crops and the Vavilov Institute send their data to Genesys through EURISCO, the European catalogue. The Geneva unit sends its data through the National Plant Germplasm System.[13][15][12]
The holders gave 634 of the accessions the status of improved cultivar, 380 of traditional cultivar or landrace and 160 of wild material. They gave no status for 676. The commonest countries of origin were Ukraine (332), Hungary (169), Russia (165), the United States (151), China (125) and Romania (117). No origin was given for 392. Sixty-two accessions were backed up in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.[5] A further 53 historic Cannabis records came from gene banks in Italy (26), Romania (25) and Sweden (2). Forty-one of them had the status of traditional cultivar or landrace.[16]
See also
References
- ↑ "Genebank, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (DEU146)". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Genesys". Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ "Genesys". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Obreza, Matija. "Accession passport data basics". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Passport data, genus Cannabis, excluding historical". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Frequently asked questions". Genesys. Crop Trust. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "About Genesys". Genesys. Crop Trust. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Terms and Conditions of Use". Genesys. Crop Trust. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ "Software disclaimer". GRIN-Global. USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ "What is GRIN-Global?" (PDF). GRIN-Global Project. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ Obreza, Matija (14 October 2026). "Genesys surpasses 4.5 million accessions". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Northeast Regional Plant Introduction Station (USA003)". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Institute of Bast Crops (UKR015)". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ "About PGRU". Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU), Geneva, NY. USDA Agricultural Research Service. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ↑ "N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Industry (RUS001)". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ "Passport data, genus Cannabis, historical". Genesys. Crop Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2026.