Seeds for life: a successful collaboration for the collection, conservation and utilization of Australian native seed

Abstract

The ‘Queensland Seeds for Life Project (Q-SFL)’ is collaboration between the Millennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP) of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom and several Australian Institutes, including The University of Queensland. The purpose of the SFL program is to improve the conservation and restoration of plant biodiversity in Queensland. This will be achieved by the collection and long-term storage of seed (as well as DNA) from priority species and by the use of these species in scientific research and utilization programs. In the first phase, seed of c. 1,000 species of Queensland native plants have been collected with c. 750 new to the MSBP. Germination tests have been completed for more than c. 600 collections, improving the knowledge base for these species and raising the opportunity for sustainable utilization in our collaborations with the Australian Mining, Floriculture and Native Fruits Industries. Detailed experiments have resolved germination issues (e.g. seed dormancy) for 200 species within families and genera that have been notoriously difficult to germinate, providing better understanding and management of threatened species. Work has been undertaken on the conservation of recalcitrant species with storage and regeneration protocols being developed for a number of previously unstudied species. Under the Q-SFL project six PhD studies have been completed on topics such as native grass utilization, soil seed banks, seed dormancy, seed longevity, utilization of native fruits and long term germplasm storage using cryopreservation. Our plan for the future builds on improving the cooperative nature of our partnership so that our state team can work in a complementary fashion with those from other states and overseas to obtain effective outcomes.

DOI: 10.3126/botor.v7i0.4367

Botanica Orientalis – Journal of Plant Science (2010) 7: 1–6