About Descriptors lists
The Series is targeted at curators, breeders, scientists and users managing crop genetic resources collections.
Each Descriptor List represents an important tool for a standardized
characterization system and it is promoted by IPGRI throughout the world. It provides an
international format and a universally understood 'language' for plant
genetic resources data. The adoption of this scheme for data encoding, or
at least the production of a transformation method to convert other
schemes to the IPGRI format, will produce a rapid, reliable and efficient means for information exchange, storage, retrieval and communication, and will assist with the utilization of germplasm.
The Descriptor Lists are authored by crop scientists who are known throughout
the world for their work and expertise in the genetic resources area and
IPGRI Staff.
More about Crop Descriptors
IPGRI encourages the collection of data for all five
type of descriptors:
Passport, Management, Environment and site, Characterization and Evaluation
whereby data from the first four categories – Passport, Management,
Environment and site and Characterization – should be available for any accession.
The number of descriptors selected in each of the categories will depend on
the crop and the importance of the crop's description. Descriptors listed under
Evaluation allow for a more extensive description of accession, but generally
require replicated trials over a period of time.
Descriptors should be used when they are useful to the curator for
the management and maintenance of the collection and/or to the users
of the plant genetic resources.
It is recommended, therefore, that information should be produced by
closely following the descriptor list with regard to: ordering and
numbering descriptors, using the descriptors specified, and using
the descriptor states recommended.
The Definition and use of the descriptors
for the genetic resources documentation can be found in each list
of descriptors.
More about Multi-crop Passport Descriptors
The List of Multi-crop Passport Descriptors (MCPD) is a reference tool developed jointly by IPGRI and FAO to provide international standards to facilitate germplasm passport information exchange across crops. These descriptors aim to be compatible with IPGRI crop descriptor lists and with the descriptors used for the FAO World Information and Early Warning System (WIEWS) on plant genetic resources (PGR).
More about Descriptor for Genetic Markers Technologies
This List of Descriptors defines an initial minimum set of information that is needed to describe a genetic marker technology, and defines community standards for documenting information about genetic markers. This document is targeted to researchers using genetic marker technologies to generate and exchange genetic marker data that are standardized and replicable and provides descriptions of content, and coding schemes that can assist in the computerized data exchange.
IPGRI is always open to new suggestions on how to improve the Descriptor Lists so please feel free to send any comments to Adriana Alercia.
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Revised on
December 14, 2004
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