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Passport data

When you open an accession record in Genesys, you will see various bits of information about its identity and origin. We call this passport data.

Just as your personal passport shows who you are and where you are from, passport data describes a sample's identity and something of its history. This helps researchers and breeders find exactly the material they need for their work.

Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors

The Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors is the standard format Data Providers use to share passport data with Genesys.

Understanding identifiers​

A single genebank sample may have several different identifiers. Here is a guide to what they mean:

Digital object identifier (DOI)​

Genesys uses the PUID descriptor to support globally consistent identification of accessions. A persistent identifier provides a stable reference to an accession record, making it possible to identify the same record across different databases. In Genesys, the only accepted form for the PUID field is a DOI.

Accession number​

The accession number is an internal identifier assigned by the genebank that stores the sample. Every genebank uses its own system for selecting and assigning accession numbers.

Collecting number​

This is the original identifier assigned by the person who first found the sample in the wild or collected it from a farm (see collecting number). This identifier is useful for tracking duplicate samples across genebanks worldwide.

Other identifiers​

Some samples have associated with them identifiers that have been assigned to them by different institutes over the years. We include these to keep related records connected.

The institutional trail​

Because samples often move between organizations, we track their history using these identifiers:

  • Institutional code: The official code that identifies the institute where a sample is currently held.
  • Collecting institute: The official code of the institute that first collected the sample.
  • Breeder information: Details about who bred the plant, if it was created by a researcher.
  • Donor information: If the sample came from another organization, we record the providing institute and their internal identifier for the sample.

Taxonomy: naming the plant​

Scientists classify plants into groups and give them scientific names in Latin using an internationally agreed system. This ensures that everyone knows they are talking about the same thing, regardless of the language they use. The scientific name of a plant is in two parts: genus and species.

  • Genus: A group of one or more closely related species.
  • Species: A group of organisms classified together as a distinct kind of plant within a genus.
  • Subtaxon: A subdivision of a species, such as a subspecies or botanical variety.
  • Common name: The name by which a plant is commonly known, which may vary across languages and regions.

You might also see an authority listed next to the scientific name. This is the person who officially published the plant's scientific name. There are international rules for recording this too.

Collecting information​

Passport data shows where the sample was originally found. This information is important for understanding the distribution of the species and the adaptation of the population.

Common details include:

The collecting mission​

PGRFA are often collected during organized trips known as collecting missions or expeditions. We record the mission identifier (if available) and the organizing institute so researchers can find other samples collected during the same trip.

Other useful information​

Other passport data fields can provide more useful context about a sample:

Biological status​

The biological status of a genebank sample refers to its level of development, e.g., whether it is a wild plant, a landrace, breeding material, an improved cultivar, or a genetically modified organism (GMO).

For developed material, we also record its ancestry, which describes its parents or breeding history, much like a family tree.

Source of the sample​

The source of the sample describes where the sample was obtained, e.g., in a wild habitat, a farmer's field, a local market, or another research institute.

Safety duplicates​

To prevent the accidental loss of genetic diversity, genebank samples should be stored in multiple locations (see safety duplicates). You can see which institutes hold backups of a given accession from its passport data.

Multilateral System status​

Its Multilateral System status indicates whether an accession is included in the Multilateral System of the ITPGRFA, which facilitates access to PGRFA and the sharing of benefits arising from their use.

Other administrative details​

Finally, a number of passport data fields help genebanks manage their collections:

  • Acquisition: Records when the sample arrived in the genebank and any official identifier it received.
  • Storage: Describes how the sample is kept, e.g., in a freezer, in vitro (in a test tube), or in a living field collection.
  • Remarks: A field for recording notes or additional potentially useful information that does not fit anywhere else.