INTERNATİONAL JOURNAL OF AGRİCULTURE & BİOLOGY ISSN Print: 1560–8530; ISSN Online: 1814–9596 10–565/MFA/2011/13–3–447–454 http://www.fspublishers.org Full Length Article To cite this paper: Ulukan, H., 2011. Plant genetic resources and breeding: current scenario and future prospects. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 13: 447–454 Plant Genetic Resources and Breeding: Current Scenario and Future Prospects HAKAN ULUKAN University of Ankara, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, 06110, Ankara, Turkey E-mails: ulukan@agri.ankara.edu.tr; hulukan@gmail.com ABSTRACT Variation in any plant population is very important for breeders. Basic aim(s) of the plant breeding is/are high yield, quality and quantity, development, resistance or tolerance of adaptation ability to stress factors, etc. They are being utilized from the genetic variation to be able to manage all these component(s). On the other hand, an accomplished adaptation to environmental conditions and ‘success’ of the plant breeding is limited with genetic base (or gene pools) of the organism. Therefore, this wideness is measured by density of the biological diversity or biodiversity/bioversity. Aboveall, variation (genetic, among species, ecosystems, etc.) is essential for all kind of the plant breeding activities and obtained from the PGRs fundamentally (such as breeding lines, landraces, local varieties, primitive forms, wild & wide relatives, weed races, etc.). © 2011 Friends Science Publishers Key Words: Genetic resources; Biodiversity; Biotechnology; Yield; Yield formation Abbreviations: PGRs, plant genetic resources; CGIAR, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Researches; CWR, crop wild relatives; MA, marker-assited PCR; GMOs, genetically modified organisms; DNA, Deoxyribonucleic acid; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphism; QTL, quantitative trait locus; eQTL, expression quantitative trait loci; SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism INTRODUCTION Plant breeding is an art and science, and it describes related methods for the creation, selection, and fixation of superior plants in the development of improved cultivars suited to the needs of growers and consumers (Moose & Muhm, 2008). About 250,000 angiosperms, 650,000 gymnosperms, 12,000 ferns, 14,000 bryophytes and 40,000 algae are taxonomically studies up to now (Govaerts, 2001; Hodkinson et al., 2007). But, less than 3% plants are available to agriculture, and economically important 15–30 species responsible for the world’s food, schelters, etc. (wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, cotton, lentil, flax, sunflower, tobacco, etc.). Especially, from them, cereals are very important, and this has a very significant and strategic role. It is estimated that some cereals such as rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum spp.) and only maize (Zea mays L.) provide about 50% of the calories people consume each day (Anonymous, 2007b; Bertrand & Mackill, 2008; Mondeil & Setboonsarng, 2009). But, about 840 million people (about 14% of the total population) have no adequate food (Anonymous, 2008a & 2008c) and more than 700 million people suffer from malnutration in the world. Since 1960, world food production has been grown faster than the human population. The main reason of this positive development is green revolution; introgression of genes reduced the plant height and increased the disease and viral resistance in wheat (Poehlman, 1979). According to the FAO (1999) (Cited by Mondeil & Setboonsarng, 2009), major causes of genetic erosion in crops are land clearing, population pressure, environmental and land degredation, pest/weeds/diseases, over-exploitation of species, overgrazing, collateral damages caused by conventional agriculture, contamination by genetically engineered or transgenic crops, and finally global climate change replacement local cultivars and changing agricultural systems. Importance of plant biodiversity: The term of “biodiversity” is not only limited to “plant species richness”, but are also related to all living components in the flora (Büchs, 2003). The diversity of PGRs from which the world’s food crops are derived is steadily declining, due in part to the reliance of modern agriculture on a limited number of improved varieties (Mondeil & Setboonsarng, 2009). There are three types of biological diversity in the nature (i) intraspecific (genetic), (ii) species and (iii) ecosystem diversity (Hammer, 2000). The importance of genetic diversity (biodiversity) in plant breeding was recognized by the 1960s and Sir Otto Frankel coined the term “genetic resources” in 1967 to highlight the relevance and need to consider germplasm as natural resource for the long-term breeding of crop plants (Yunbi, 2010).