First plant gene bank begins operating at the Institute of Botany, Physiology and Plant Genetics

The plant gene bank was established with the support of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, within the framework of the "Twenty-Year Period of Study and Development of Natural, Exact and Mathematical Sciences in the Field of Science and Education". Its purpose is the long-term preservation of seeds of valuable, rare and local plants, as well as the conservation of intraspecific genetic diversity and wild relatives of plants, including endemic species of Tajikistan.

According to the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the new facility will allow scientists to collect, store and preserve for a long time seeds of local and regionally adapted plants, as well as rare and endangered species of Tajikistan's wild flora. The bank will also serve as an important scientific base for research into biodiversity, hereditary traits, the protection of rare species and the development of promising plant varieties and samples.

Storage conditions have been prepared for more than 1000 items of collection material in refrigerators at a temperature of 0 to +3 C and more than 5000 plant seed items in special iron boxes under comparatively low temperatures. A dedicated scientific database has also been created to record data on each species and sample, with each one assigned a special genetic code (ID).