International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre
The Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC) is hosted at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and is home to the world’s largest collection of banana diversity.
The collection includes more than 1,500 accessions of cultivated and wild species of banana. The accessions are kept in vitro under slow growth conditions at 16°C. For security, samples are frozen in liquid nitrogen at –196°C. Such cryopreserved material can be conserved indefinitely and revived into full banana plants as needed. In addition, this frozen collection is safety duplicated at the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) in Montpellier, France.
The Laboratory of Plant Pathology from Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (Liège University, Belgium) provides virus-indexing and plant health services. Virus negative material is freely available for international distribution upon request from the MGIS website, which holds passport data on all ITC accessions. Samples are accompanied by a health statement, phytosanitary certificate and a copy of the Standard Material Transfer Agreement.
ITC collaborates widely with partners in many locations around the world through the Musa Genetic Resources Network (MusaNet).
Key Staff
Head of Genetic Resources: Nicolas Roux
Genebank Manager: Ines Van den Houwe
Cryopreservation Specialist: Bart Panis
Key performance indicators of CGIAR genebanks, 2012-2021
HINT: Use the search key to filter the data. For descriptions of performance indicators, click here.| Indicator | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Total number of accessions | 1,455 | 1,479 | 1,518 | 1,544 | 1,546 | 1,566 | 1,617 | 1,624 | 1,682 |
| 2. Total number of accessions that are currently available | 897 | 897 | 938 | 957 | 980 | 987 | 946 | 988 | 1,033 |
| 3. Number of seed accessions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 4. Number of vegetatively-propagated accessions | 1,455 | 1,479 | 1,518 | 1,544 | 1,546 | 1,566 | 1,617 | 1,624 | 1,682 |
| 5. Number of live plant accessions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 6. Number of seed accessions held in long-term storage and safety duplicated at two levels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7. Number of vegetatively-propagated accessions in cryopreservation or safety duplicated as in vitro | 801 | 801 | 801 | 924 | 921 | 1,079 | 1,053 | 1,053 | 1,517 |
| 8. Number of wild species accessions | 181 | 180 | 171 | 175 | 179 |
Genebank operations, 2012-2021
HINT: Use the search key to filter the data| Indicator | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Number of accessions with passport & characterization data available | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1,600 | 1,621 | 1,642 |
| 2. Number accessions received | 30 | 43 | 22 | 5 | 20 | 66 | 25 | 34 | 45 | 0 |
| 3. Number accessions regenerated | 3 | 0 | 20 | 46 | 27 | 17 | 65 | 84 | 0 | 52 |
| 4. Number accessions multiplied | 1,209 | 1,226 | 1,184 | 1,361 | 1,213 | 1,175 | 1,208 | 3,742 | 0 | 2,526 |
| 5. Number accessions health tested | 17 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 44 | 27 | 32 | 66 | 85 |
| 6. Number accessions cleaned | 20 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 77 | 23 | 67 | 0 | 37 |
| 7. Number accessions viability tested | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Number of samples distributed to users within and outside the CGIAR, 2012-2021
HINT: Use the search key to filter the data. For descriptions of performance indicators, click here.| Indicator | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Total number external germplasm requests | 68 | 66 | 37 | 51 | 49 | 43 | 33 | 46 | 28 |
| 2. Number of samples distributed within the CGIAR | 177 | 61 | 118 | 0 | 67 | 11 | 29 | 92 | 0 |
| 3. Number of samples distributed outside the CGIAR | 1,009 | 644 | 1,032 | 860 | 551 | 445 | 553 | 304 | 530 |
| 4. Total number of samples distributed | 1,186 | 705 | 1,150 | 860 | 618 | 456 | 582 | 396 | 530 |
| 5. Number of accessions distributed within the CGIAR | 177 | 61 | 118 | 0 | 64 | 11 | 29 | 91 | 0 |
| 6. Number of accessions distributed outside the CGIAR | 532 | 431 | 693 | 617 | 537 | 438 | 515 | 299 | 525 |
| 7. Total number of accessions distributed | 709 | 492 | 811 | 617 | 601 | 449 | 544 | 390 | 525 |
| 8. Total number of accessions distributed outside the CGIAR with SMTA | 537 | 438 | 515 | 299 | 525 | ||||
| 9. Total number of unique accessions distributed outside the CGIAR with SMTA | 405 | 348 | 515 | 299 | 525 |
Genebank Platform publications, 2017-2020
Recent publications with at least one CGIAR genebank staff as author. HINT: Use the search key to filter the data.| Authors | Article title | Publication name | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sinnesael, A., Eeckhout, S., Janssens, S., Smets,E., Panis, B., Verstraete, B. | Detection of Burkholderia in the seeds of Psychotria punctata (Rubiaceae) – Microscopic evidence for vertical transmission in the leaf nodule symbiosis. | PLoS One | READ |
| Ellis, D., Escobar, R., Gueye, B., Panis, B., Vollmer, R., Popova, E. | Cryobanking clonal crops: When knowledge and practice are not the same. | Cryobiology, Abstracts of CRYO2018 | READ |
| Němečková, A., Christelová, P., Čížková, J., Nyine, M., Van den houwe, I., Svačina, R., Uwimana, B., Swennen, R., Doležel, J. and Hribová, E. | Molecular and cytogenetic study of east African highland banana. | Frontiers of Plant Science | READ |
| Sardos, J., Christelová, P., Čížková, J., Paofa, J., Sachter-Smith, G. L., Janssens, S. B., Rauka, G. , Ruas, M. , Daniells, J. W.,Doležel, J.,Roux, N. | Collection of new diversity of wild and cultivated bananas (Musa spp.) in the autonomous region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. | Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution | READ |
| Rouard, M., Droc, G., Martin, G., Hueber, Y., Sardos, J., Guignon, V., Cenci, A., Geigle, B., Hibbins, M., Yahiaoui, N., Baurens, F., Berry, V., Hahn, M., D’Hont, A., Roux, N. | Three new genome assemblies support a rapid radiation in Musa acuminata (wild banana). | Genome Biology and Evolution | READ |
| Halewood, M., Lopez Noriega, I., Ellis, D., Roa, C., Rouard, M., Sackville Hamilton, R. | Using genomic sequence information to increase conservation and sustainable use of crop diversity and benefit-sharing. | Biopreservation and Biobanking | READ |
| Max Ruas, V. Guignon, G. Sempere, J. Sardos, Y. Hueber, H. Duvergey, A. Andrieu, R. Chase, C. Jenny, T. Hazekamp, B. Irish, K. Jelali, J. Adeka, T. Ayala-Silva, C.P. Chao, J. Daniells, B. Dowiya, B. Effa effa, L. Gueco, L. Herradura, L. Ibobondji, E. Kempenaers, J. Kilangi, S. Muhangi, P. Ngo Xuan, J. Paofa, C. Pavis, D. Thiemele, C. Tossou, J. Sandoval, A. Sutanto, G. Vangu Paka, G. Yi, I. Van den houwe, N. Roux, M. Rouard | MGIS: managing banana (Musa spp.) genetic resources information and high-throughput genotyping data. | Database | READ |
| Al-Idrus, A., Carpentier, S.C., Ahmad, M.T., Panis, B., Mohamed, Z. | Elucidation of the compatible interaction between banana and Meloidogyne incognita via high-throughput proteome profiling. | PLoS ONE | READ |
| De Clerck, C., Crew, K., Van den houwe, I., McMichael, L., Berhal, C., Lassois, L., Haissam Jijakli, M., Roux, N., Thomas, J. and Massart, S. | Lessons learned from the virus indexing of Musa germplasm: insights from a multiyear collaboration. | Annals of Applied Biology | READ |
| Bawin, Yves; Panis, Bartholomeus; Vanden Abeele, Samuel; Li, Zhiying; Sardos, Julie; Paofa, Janet; Ge, Xue-Jun; Mertens, Arne; Honnay, Olivier; Janssens, Steven | Genetic diversity and core subset selection in ex situ seed collections of the banana crop wild relative Musa balbisiana | Plant Genetic Resources | READ |
| Alberto Cenci , Yann Hueber, Yasmin Zorrilla-Fontanesi, Jelle van Wesemael, Ewaut Kissel, Marie Gislard, Julie Sardos, Rony Swennen, Nicolas Roux, Sebastien Christian Carpentier and Mathieu Rouard | Effect of paleopolyploidy and allopolyploidy on gene expression in banana | BMC Genomics | READ |
| Yaw Nti-Addae, Dave Matthews, Victor Jun Ulat, Raza Syed, Guilhem Sempéré, Adrien Pétel, Jon Renner, Pierre Larmande, Valentin Guignon, Elizabeth Jones, Kelly Robbins | Benchmarking database systems for Genomic Selection implementation | Database | READ |
| Hammond, Stacy Denise Hammond; Viehmannova, Iva; Zamecnik, Jiri; Panis, Bart; Cepkova, Petra Hlasna | Efficient slow-growth conservation and assessment of clonal fidelity of Ullucus tuberosus Caldas microshoots | Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture | READ |
| Prudente, Debora de Oliveira; Paiva, Renato; Domiciano, Debora; de Souza, Lucas Batista; Carpentier, Sebastien; Swennen, Rony; Silva, Luciano Coutinho; Nery, Fernanda Carlota; Flausino Maximo, Wesley Pires; Panis, Bart | The cryoprotectant PVS2 plays a crucial role in germinating Passiflora ligularis embryos after cryopreservation by influencing the mobilization of lipids and the antioxidant metabolism | Journal of Plant Physiology | READ |
| Sinnesael, Arne; Leroux, Olivier; Janssens, Steven B.; Smets, Eric; Panis, Bart; Verstraete, Brecht | Is the bacterial leaf nodule symbiosis obligate for Psychotria umbellata? The development of a Burkholderia-free host plant | PLoS One | READ |
| Panis, B. | Sixty years of plant cryopreservation: From freezing Hardy mulberry twigs to establishing reference crop collections for future generations | Acta Horticulturae | READ |
| Wilms H, Rhee JH, Rivera RL, Longin K, Panis B | Developing coconut cryopreservation protocols and establishing cryo-genebank at RDA; a collaborative project between RDA and Bioversity International | Acta Horticulturae | READ |
| Folgado R, Panis B | Cryopreservation of Ashe magnolia shoot-tips by droplet-vitrification | Acta Horticulturae | READ |
| Panis, B. | Crop Cryopreservation For Ensuring Food Security; Realizations And Challenges | Cryobiology | READ |
| Margit Drapal, Elisabete Barros de Carvalho, Mathieu Rouard, Delphine Amah, Julie Sardos, Ines Van den Houwe, Allan Brown, Nicolas Roux, Paul D. Fraser | Metabolite profiling characterises chemotypes of Musa diploids and triploids at juvenile and pre-flowering growth stages | Scientific Reports | READ |
| Wang, M.; Lambardi, M.; Engelmann, F.; Pathirana, R.; Panis, B.; Volk, G.M.; Wang, Q. | Advances in cryopreservation of in vitro-derived propagules: technologies and explant sources. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture | Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture | READ |
| Panis, B.; Nagel, M.; Van den houwe, I. | Challenges and prospects for the conservation of crop genetic resources in field genebanks, in In Vitro collections and/or in liquid nitrogen. | Plants | READ |
| Kehel Z, Sanchez-Garcia M, El Baouchi A, Aberkane H, Tsivelikas A, Charles C & Amri A | Characterization for Seed Morphometric Traits for Genebank Accessions Using Genomic Selection. Front. Ecol. Evol. 8:32. | Front. Ecol. Evol | READ |
| Li, W.; Dita, M.; Rouard, M.; Wu, W.; Roux, N.; Xie, J.H.; Ge, X.J. | Deep RNA-seq analysis reveals key responding aspects of wild banana relative resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4. | Functional and Integrative Genomics | READ |
| Wilms, H.; Fanega Sleziak, N.; Van der Auweraer, M.; Brands, M.; Verleije, M.; Hardeman, D.; Andre, E.; Panis, B. | Development of a fast and user-friendly cryopreservation protocol for sweet potato genetic resources. | Scientific Reports | READ |
| De Kort, H.; Panis, B.; Deforce, D.; Van Nieuwerburgh, F.; Honnay, O. | Ecological divergence of wild strawberry DNA methylation patterns at distinct spatial scales | Molecular Ecology | READ |
| Eyland, D.; Breton, C.; Sardos, J.; Kallow, S.; Panis, B.; Swennen, R.; Paofa, J.; Tardieu, F.; Welcker, C.; Janssens, S.B.; Carpentier, S.C. | Filling the gaps in gene banks: collecting, characterizing and phenotyping wild banana relatives of Papua New Guinea | Crop Science | READ |
| Guignon, V.; Toure, A.; Droc, G.; Dufayard, J-F.; Conte, M.; Rouard, M. | GreenPhylDB v5: a comparative pangenomic database for plant genomes | Nucleic Acids Research | READ |
| Price, E.J.; Drapal, M.; Perez‐Fons, L.; Amah, D.; Bhattacharjee, R.; Heider, B.; Rouard, M.; Swennen, R.; Becerra Lopez‐Lavalle, L.A.; Fraser, P.D. | Metabolite database for root, tuber and banana crops to facilitate modern breeding in understudied crops. | The Plant Journal | READ |
| Tin, Huynh Quang, Nguyen Huu Loi, Sandy Jan E. Labarosa, Kenneth L. McNally, Susan McCouch, & Benjamin Kilian | Phenotypic response of farmer-selected CWR-derived rice lines to salt stress in the Mekong Delta | Crop Science | READ |
| De Kort, H.; Panis, B.; Helsen, K.; Douzet, R; Janssens, S.B.; Honnay, O. | Pre-adaptation to climate change through topography-driven phenotypic plasticity | Journal of Ecology | READ |
| Van Den Houwe, I.; Chase, R.; Sardos, J.; Ruas, M.; Kempenaers, E.; Guignon, V.; Massart, S.; Carpentier, S.; Panis, B.; Rouard, M.; Roux, N. | Safeguarding and using global banana diversity: a holistic approach. | CABI Agriculture and Bioscience | READ |
| Zorrilla-Fontanesi, Y.; Pauwels, L.; Panis, B.; Signorelli, S.; Vanderschuren, H.; Swennen R. | Strategies to revise agrosystems and breeding to control Fusarium wilt of banana | Nature Food | READ |
| Cenci, A.; Sardos, J.; Hueber, Y.; Martin, G.; Breton, C.; Roux, N.; Swennen, R.; Carpentier, S.C.; Rouard, M. | Unravelling the complex story of intergenomic recombination in ABB allotriploid bananas. | Annals of Botany | READ |
