Objectives
- To preserve flax genetic resources for the future by rejuvenation of the germplasm.
- To increase the use of the collection by collecting agrobotanical characterization data of these accessions.
- To acquire new germplasm of cultivated flax and wild species of the genus Linum from other gene banks and botanical gardens.
Project Description
As a major result of this project, the Canadian flax germplasm collection preserved at PGRC increased in number from 91 accessions in 1998 to 2813 active accessions by March 2001. This germplasm represents flax from 69 countries. PGRC also holds 54 active accessions of wild flax. The Canadian flax collection is now the seventh largest flax genetic resources collection in the world. The regenerated seeds are stored in the working collection and in the long-term storage vault of PGRC. No other world flax collection has been characterized to the same extent as the PGRC flax collection. The data collected on 3553 plots grown during the three field seasons allows for an approximate judgement on how flax germplasm from all over the world will perform under the growing conditions in Saskatchewan. The evaluation for the quality traits of the seed oil quality parameters are of increasing importance in the oilseed industry.
Due to recent regeneration efforts, sufficient amount of seeds are stored and all germplasm is available to plant breeders and researchers in Canada and internationally. In completing this project, PGRC makes a major contribution to the global efforts to preserve plant genetic resources for future generations. Solutions to future problems with abiotic and biotic threats to Saskatchewan flax production will be supported by easy access to these genetic resources. Plant breeders have access to the germplasm and can search the collection for new genes. There is a huge potential for this collection to contribute to successful flax breeding and ensure sustainable flax production in the Canadian prairie provinces and other places. The characterization data shows that the world collection contains accessions which exceed the ranges of diversity found in past or current Canadian flax cultivars in economically important characters like seed weight, plant height and several seed oil characters. Many of the wild species acquired by PGRC, now integrated into the collection, were formerly not available from gene banks or botanical gardens in North America. Germplasm of 142 accessions of wild species of the genus Linum L. was acquired from several European botanical gardens. The PGRC wild flax collection is now unique in North America and germplasm of 54 accessions belonging to 22 species is available for distribution.
