A European biobanking strategy for safeguarding macroalgal genetic material to ensure food security, biosecurity and conservation of biodiversity
Biobanking (also known as germplasm banking) of genetic material is a well-established concept for preserving plant genetic diversity and also contributes to food security, conservation and restoration. Macroalgae currently represent a very small percentage of the strains in publicly accessible European germplasm banks, despite the increasing recognition of their contribution to achieving several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. There is no strategic coordination of existing macroalgal strains, which could have severe ecological and economic implications as species and their genetic diversity disappear rapidly due to local and global environmental stressors. In this opinion paper, we stress the importance of a coordinated European effort for preserving macroalgal genetic diversity and suggest the development of a three-pillared system to safeguard European macroalgal genetic material consisting of (1) a European Board of Macroalgal Genetic Resources (EBMGR) to provide supervision, support and coordination, (2) a network of germplasm banks consisting of currently existing and newly established infrastructures and (3) an interoperable databank integrating existing databanks. While it will be the task of the EBMGR to identify and coordinate priorities, we offer initial recommendations for preserving macroalgal genetic material, discuss the risks of inaction, and highlight the challenges that must be overcome.
Authors
- Maike Lorenz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2277-3077)
- Ricardo Bermejo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3838-9093)
- Inka Bartsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7609-2149)
- Manuela I. Parente (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0204-7155)
- Jessica Schiller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5649-2675)
- Laurie C. Hofmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2307-3750)
- Ronan Sulpice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6113-9570)
- Janina Brakel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5880-6280)
- Ian Probert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1643-1759)
- Sotiris Orfanidis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9043-5432)
- Bertrand Jacquemin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1019-8474)
- Olivier De Clerck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3699-8402)
- Emeline Creis
- Cecilia Rad‐Menéndez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5248-0948)
- Ralf Rautenberger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1339-2838)
- Levi Pompermayer Machado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6035-851X)
- Thomas Wichard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0061-4160)
- Jessica Knoop (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9374-0179)
- Myriam Valéro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9000-1423)
- Sophie Steinhagen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8410-9932)
- Ester Á. Serrão (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1316-658X)
- Neusa Martins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4333-2905)
- Michael Ross (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2581-4495)
- Gabriel Montecinos Arismendi
Institutions
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (DE)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (DE)
- Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE)
- Ghent University Hospital (BE)
- Station Biologique de Roscoff (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Hochschule Bremerhaven (DE)
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (DE)
- Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (AU)
- Istituto di Scienze Marine del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IT)
- Adaptation et Diversité en Milieu Marin (FR)
- Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NO)
- Heliomare (NL)
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (PT)
- University of Algarve (PT)
- University of Göttingen (DE)
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
- Universidad de Málaga (ES)
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (BR)
- University of Gothenburg (SE)
- Scottish Association For Marine Science (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Journal of Phycology
- Published
- 2025-04-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09670262.2025.2480569
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.38
Funders
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Lloyd's Register