HW 5 PBG430/530. 2014.
A colleague sent me the following photographs of the Oregon Wolfe Barley mapping
population entering the Svalbard Seed Vault.
For this homework assignment, imagine you are offered an opportunity to have
seeds of your favorite plant stored at the Svalbard Seed Vault. But in order for that
to happen, you must make a compelling case for storing seed of your plant. In a
short essay (1 page; 500 words maximum; 12 point font; 1 inch margins) please
address each of the following points.
1. Describe your favorite plant in terms of common and scientific name; the 2n
= __ x = ___ formula; and the genome size.
2. Why is this plant of interest and/or importance?
3. What is the Svalbard Seed Vault and why is it thought (by some) to be
important to conserve plant genetic diversity there?
4. How many different genotypes of your favorite plant do you believe should
be preserved at the Svalbard Seed Vault, and why?
5. In addition to preserving seeds at the Svalbard Seed Vault, do you think it is
important to archive linkage maps, information on specific genes, and the
genome sequence (if available) for your species? Explain your reasoning.
6. In an era of relatively cheap genome sequencing and data archiving, why
bother with seeds? Why not just store the DNA sequence?
7. Even with a genome sequence available, there remains the challenge of
reviving an extinct species. Briefly review the status of synthetic genome
construction and re-establishing extinct species based on genome sequence
and make a compelling argument for (or against) saving seed of your favorite
plant at Svalbard. A couple of things to look at on the web to prompt your
thinking….
http://www.syntheticgenomics.com/;
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v473/n7347/full/473403a.html;
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_case_for_deextinction_why_we_should_bring_back_the_woolly_mammoth/2721/