title: On germ plasm conservation with special reference to the genus Medicago.
abstract: As Frankel has indicated, there is ample justification for maintaining international germ plasm centers for preservation of land races and species of a genus; this would appear self-evident on the grounds that extinction involves a permanent loss of gene pools that have required from several centuries to millions of years to evolve. Monoculture is causing extinction of some Medicago species, yet all species of the genus Medicago are of economic importance. Examples are drawn from recent crosses involving wild species of this genus, and we note the rapidly increasing appreciation of the value of annual Medicago species. Their potential future use in the South Temperate Zone countries is discussed.
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005788:Gene Pool; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D005838:Genotype; D000455:Medicago sativa / Q000235:genetics*