A gene bank is a specialized bio-repository established to collect, catalog, store, and preserve genetic material (germplasm) from plants, animals, or microorganisms outside their natural environments, representing a central ex-situ conservation strategy. In agricultural botany and plant breeding, gene banks safeguard seeds, pollen, tissue cultures, and DNA samples representing ancient landraces, wild crop relatives, and elite modern cultivars. These repositories serve as secure genetic insurance policies, protecting agricultural biodiversity from catastrophic genetic erosion caused by industrial monocultures, climate shocks, emergent pest pandemics, and habitat destruction.
The preservation methodologies deployed within plant gene banks are determined by seed physiology and tolerance to desiccation. "Orthodox seeds"—which include globally dominant cereal staples such as wheat, rice, barley, and maize, along with most food legumes—can survive dehydration down to 3 to 7 percent moisture content. These dried seeds are sealed inside moisture-proof foil envelopes and stored within refrigerated vaults maintained at minus 18 to minus 20 degrees Celsius, remaining biologically viable for decades or centuries. Conversely, "recalcitrant seeds"—produced by important tropical and tree crops such as rubber, cocoa, tea, coconut, and mango—perish if dried or frozen; these species are conserved through living field gene banks (orchards), in-vitro micropropagation tissue culture, or ultra-cold cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius.
On a global scale, over 1,750 gene banks preserve plant genetic resources, coordinated through international frameworks like the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). The ultimate global backup facility is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault—excavated deep within the permafrost of a sandstone mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, Norway—which holds over 1.2 million duplicate seed accessions contributed by national repositories worldwide. In India, the National Gene Bank (NGB) located at the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi is the second-largest national facility globally, conserving more than 460,000 unique germplasm accessions to underpin national food security.
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A gene bank is an ex-situ conservation facility dedicated to preserving viable genetic material (germplasm) of plants and animals.
Plant gene banks conserve agricultural biodiversity by preserving crop landraces, wild ancestors, modern cultivars, and mutant strains.
Crop wild relatives (CWR) hold genetic traits for drought tolerance, heat resistance, salinity adaptation, and disease immunity.
Orthodox seeds can survive drying to low moisture levels (3 to 7 percent) and cold storage at minus 18 to minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Major global food staples—including wheat, rice, barley, maize, and chickpeas—produce orthodox seeds suitable for long-term frozen vault storage.
Recalcitrant seeds cannot survive dehydration and sub-zero freezing, perishing if moisture drops below critical physiological levels.
Tropical tree crops such as tea, rubber, mango, cocoa, avocado, and coconut produce recalcitrant seeds that cannot be stored in standard seed vaults.
Recalcitrant plants are conserved using living field gene banks, in-vitro tissue culture micropropagation, or liquid nitrogen cryopreservation.
Cryopreservation involves submerging embryonic plant tissues or meristems into liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius.
Liquid nitrogen temperature suspends all metabolic and enzymatic activity, preventing biological aging without forming damaging ice crystals.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, opened by Norway in 2008 on Spitsbergen island, acts as the ultimate backup repository for global agriculture.
Built 130 metres inside a permafrost mountain sandstone cliff, Svalbard can hold up to 4.5 million distinct seed samples at minus 18 degrees Celsius.
In 2015, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) made the first withdrawal from Svalbard following the Syrian war.
India's National Gene Bank (NGB) was established in 1996 at the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi.
India's National Gene Bank is the second largest in the world by accession count, housing over 460,000 unique germplasm accessions.
The NGB features long-term modules kept at minus 18 degrees Celsius, medium-term modules at 4 degrees Celsius, and cryo-tanks in liquid nitrogen.
India maintains a high-altitude permafrost seed facility at Chang La in Ladakh, established by the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DRDO).
The FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) ensures open multilateral access to crop germplasm.
The CGIAR network of international agricultural research centres manages 11 major international gene banks conserving over 700,000 accessions.
Regular germination testing (regeneration) is conducted every 5 to 10 years to verify seed viability and grow out fresh seed batches.