/ Seeds of wild plants in danger of extinction due to accelerated development are preserved in a new gene bank
By Rinat Zafarir
In recent years, Israeli scientists have been conducting an almost desperate pursuit of wild plant seeds, from which cultivated plants have been developed. The goal: to save at least some genes of these plants, before the accelerated development and construction in Israel exterminate them as well. Recently, with the start of construction work on the cross-Israel road, rescue efforts have been stepped up. This is because the new road will cause extensive damage to the areas where there is a variety of wild plants.
The researchers collect plant seeds and transfer them to research institutions or to cooling facilities at the National Garden Bank, established by the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Agriculture at the Volcanic Center in Beit Dagan. This is because the seeds of the wild plants that are collected may contain genes, which will make it possible to develop resistance against pests and diseases in cultivated plants, or genes from which it will be possible to develop medicines.
About 40 years ago, wild oat plants were collected in Israel, and their genes helped the Americans overcome a disease that until then affected cultivated oats. Years later, when American researchers came to Israel to inspect the area where the oats were collected at the time and look for additional beneficial genes, it became clear that the area had become built up and the oat plot disappeared from the world.
One of the main collection centers for seeds of wild plants operates at the Cereal Institute of Tel Aviv University under the management of Prof. Yehoshua Anixter and in cooperation with researchers from the "Rotem" Flower Research Center at the Hebrew University. Bags loaded with seeds of wild plants such as: oats, wild beets, black mustard and other plants, collected along the route of the Cross of Israel and in the Modi'in area, where there is an extensive construction boom, recently arrived at the institute.
Recently, a collaboration between researchers from Israel and Palestinian researchers also began. They have already collected together seeds of closely related wild plants in the area of Beit Govrin and Samaria. "We divided the seeds equally between us," says Anixter.
Israel is particularly rich in wild plants from which cultivated plants have been developed: it has about 200 species of such plants compared to only three species in the United States: pecan, sunflower and sour (cranberry). This diversity is probably related to the fact that human agricultural culture began to develop in the Middle East.
Today, Prof. Anixter is particularly concerned about the fate of Ben-hita Hasroni, a unique species of wild plant found only in Israel, since it only grows in the coastal area, which is developing at a rapid pace. "It is neither fragrant nor particularly beautiful," says Anixter, "but it may contain genes useful for cultivating beneficial traits in cultivated wheat. The problem is that it cannot compete with the construction in the coastal area."
Anixter would like to see development agencies - those involved in establishing residential neighborhoods or building roads - invest greater resources to finance projects such as a garden bank, as is the case in other countries. According to him, countries like the United States, for example, oblige those involved in construction and development to allocate a lot of money to save unique natural resources.
Saving the genetic pool in Israel by preserving them in a special gene bank is a project currently limited to a period of twenty years. In order to preserve the gardens for a longer period (using more advanced conservation means), financial resources are needed, which are still lacking.
Dr. Miriam Waldman, who is responsible on behalf of the Ministry of Science for the gene bank project, says that Israel will be interested in being integrated in the gene bank project of the Fertile Crescent region in the future. The center of the project is in the city of Aleppo in Syria and it operates in cooperation with Iran and Jordan.
{Appeared in Haaretz newspaper, 27/6/2000}
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