Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

PBCC: Accomplishments 2016/2017, 2017 Meeting, and goals for 2017/2018

2016/2017 PBCC Accomplishments:

• The number of state representatives has significantly increased. According to the Participant E list (https://www.nimss.org/appendix_e/project?id=17576), 44 states are represented, as well as one unincorporated territory of the U.S.: Puerto Rico.
• ‘Sustaining the Future of Plant Breeding: The Critical Role of the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System.’ P.F. Byrne, G.M. Volk, C. Gardner, M. A. Gore, P.W. Simon, and S. Smith. Manuscript submitted to Crop Science, 5/19/17.
• ‘Planning Conference to Develop Strategies for Training the Next Generation of U.S. Plant Genebank Managers.’ P.F. Byrne and G.M. Volk. $37,636. Proposal submitted to USDA-NIFA-AFRI, Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production program, 7/18/17.
• Key Note presentation by Patrick Byrne, Colorado State University, at the 2017 NAPB/PBCC meeting: “Germplasm Morgue or Gold Mine? Enhancing the Value of Plant Genetic Resource Collections for Plant Breeding”
• Report on “Intellectual Property Rights and Public Plant Breeding Recommendations, and proceedings of a conference on best practices for intellectual property protection of publically developed plant germplasm” based on a summit prior to the 2016 NAPB/PBCC meeting compiled and edited by William F. Tracy, Julie C. Dawson, Virginia M. Moore, and Jillene Fisch, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison (http://host.cals.wisc.edu/agronomy/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2016/05/Proceedings-IPR-Final.pdf)
• Session on Intellectual Property Rights at the 2017 NAPB/PBCC meeting, chaired by William F. Tracy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Stable funding of PBCC of $6,000 annually will be provided by NAPB
• PBCC modifiable poster established by Mikey Kantar, for presentation at any conference or venue (https://www.plantbreeding.org/files/napb/pbcc-national-poster.pdf)
• Permanent web-site location on NAPB web-site established: https://www.plantbreeding.org/content/pbcc

Annual PBCC Meeting, Davis, CA, August 10, 2017

Goals for 2017/2018

Five objectives were addressed at the annual PBCC meeting within the ongoing SCC80 project, with a focus on objectives 1, 4, and 5, as objectives 2 and 3 were presented at the NAPB/PBCC meeting. Below are goals for each objective for the upcoming year:

Objective 1: Collect, analyze, and disseminate information about the U.S. plant breeding effort in both public and private sectors, to include human capacity and access to enabling knowledge, technologies, germplasm, and infrastructure [Lead Drs. Kate Evans and Ksenija Gasic]

• Collaborate with NRSP10 to fund development of survey for U.S. public plant breeding capacity, development of on-line database to house the data and an interactive map to enable communication of state-by-state results.
• Implement survey in early 2018 with a view to presenting first analyses at the NAPB/PBCC 2018 meeting.
• Build contact list for future private sector survey.

Objective 2: Promote the conservation, characterization, and utilization of plant genetic resources and access to those resources for plant breeding. [Lead Dr. Pat Byrne]

• Sponsor or suggest symposium on genetic diversity at the crop and horticultural professional annual meetings to engage broader audience. CSSA on plant genetic resources and ISHS on ornamental germplasm
• Write white paper on what type of information germplasm repositories collect and how is the germplasm used, GRIN global etc. Less than 10% of those that request germplasm report back to repositories on how is the germplasm used

Objective 3: Identify Best Management Practices for public sector intellectual property protection to encourage the creation and distribution of improved crops for a broad range of needs and opportunities. [Lead Dr. Bill Tracy]

• Finalize guidelines on public plant breeding IPR for presentation at the NAPB/PBCC 2018 meeting.

Objective 4: Optimize opportunities for public-private collaboration in plant breeding research and education, including continuing education for plant breeders. [Lead Dr. Thomas Lubberstedt]

• Develop a white paper on core concepts in plant breeding, a tool for revising plant breeding curriculum; lead ISU – interact with other universities

Objective 5. Foster communication among public plant breeders and federal agencies on public policy issues, including alerts to existing and emerging threats to agricultural security that are relevant to plant breeding. [Lead Drs. Mikey Kantar and Mike Gore]

• Establish new communication channels with NAPB, CSA News or Hort Science News
• Develop collaborations to enhance science communication education among plant breeding students (i.e. Cornell Alliance for Science)

Other goals:

• Increase number of states represented in SSC80
• Nominate NFAR speaker(s)
• Participate in 2018 NPGCC meeting