Editing Germplasm (section)

{{Short description|Genetic material of an organism}}
{{distinguish|text=[[germ plasm]], a germ cell's determining zone}}
[[File:INTA - Banco de germoplasma.jpg|thumb|Germplasm bank of the [[Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria]].]]
'''Germplasm''' refers to [[genetic resources]] such as seeds, tissues, and DNA sequences that are maintained for the purpose of [[Animal husbandry|animal]] and [[plant breeding]], conservation efforts, agriculture, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of seed collections stored in [[Seedbank|seed banks]], trees growing in nurseries, animal breeding lines maintained in animal breeding programs or [[Gene bank|gene banks]]. Germplasm collections can range from collections of wild species to elite, domesticated breeding lines that have undergone extensive human selection. Germplasm collection is important for the maintenance of biological diversity, food security, and conservation efforts.

In the United States, germplasm resources are regulated by the National Genetic Resources Program (NGRP), created by the U.S. congress in 1990. In addition the web server The Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDA ARS GRIN |url=https://www.ars-grin.gov/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=www.ars-grin.gov}}</ref> provides information about germplasms as they pertain to agriculture production.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kinard |first=Gary |title=Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) |url=https://data.nal.usda.gov/system/files/FAOBIOVERSITY_MULTI-CROP_PASSPORT_DESCRIPTORS_V.2.1_2015_2020.pdf |publisher=USDA NAL |language=English |access-date=2023-02-08}}</ref>