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Requesting Plant Material

Many of the seeds (and other types of planting material) whose data is shared through Genesys are available on request from their holding genebank. When this is the case, Genesys relays these requests to the genebank. Keep in mind that most genebanks distribute small amounts for research and breeding purposes, and access is subject to legal and phytosanitary conditions.

How to request material​

The process is designed to be simple and streamlined:

  1. Find accessions. There are many ways to find the crop diversity you are looking for in Genesys. You can conduct a basic search from the Genesys entry page, or use advanced search by filtering passport data. You may also find accessions of interest in subsets and characterization and evaluation datasets.

  2. Add them to My List. When you know the accessions you wish to request, you need to add them to a list that Genesys calls My List. You can access the list from the main navigation bar.

    Add multiple accessions lets you paste a list of accession numbers, for example from a spreadsheet:

    Add multiple accessions

    The + Add to My list button appears on the far right of each accession description:

    Add to My list button

    Alternatively, you can also use the Table view in the Accession browser to have a look at the complete passport data and maybe spot accessions of interest more easily. Select the accessions you want to add to My list by checking these boxes:

    Table view with checkboxes

  3. Send the request. Once your list is ready, go to My list and click "Request for material":

    Request for material button

Requesting from multiple genebanks​

Genesys allows you to request material held at different genebanks simultaneously.

Genesys will first check which of the accessions can be requested. Accessions highlighted in red cannot be requested through Genesys and will be automatically excluded. This happens when the genebank has not enabled the option to receive requests through Genesys, or the accession is currently flagged as "unavailable for distribution":

Unavailable accessions highlighted in red

If you cannot request an accession through Genesys, you may find a similar accession held by another institute using the Similarity Search function, and add those to your list instead. Alternatively, contact the genebank directly. The genebank page in Genesys includes a "Show in FAO WIEWS database" link to the respective FAO WIEWS record with contact information.

Filling out the request form​

Follow all the steps in the request form and fill out all required fields. Here is how the updated form looks:

Material request form overview

Please flag your request as Internal if you are requesting material from your own institute. Internal requests do not require a material transfer agreement and they are not linked with Easy-SMTA.

Justification requirement​

To help genebanks better understand the purpose of each request, you must provide a detailed justification of at least 100 characters. A clear justification helps streamline the approval process and ensures appropriate distribution.

Indicate whether your request is for personal or professional purposes. This helps us tailor our support accordingly.

Providing your address​

Whether the request is for personal use at home or professional use at a research institution, you must provide the relevant address. Accurate address information ensures materials are delivered correctly.

Easy-SMTA​

You no longer need to have your email address registered in Easy-SMTA to submit a material request through Genesys.

Confirming your order​

After submitting your request, you will receive an email with a verification key. Follow all steps in this email to confirm your order. Only after successfully completing these steps will your request be relayed to the holding institute(s).

What to expect after submitting​

Genebank accessions are unlike anything else you order online. Access is subject to legal and phytosanitary conditions, in addition to genebank distribution policies. Most genebanks distribute small amounts, and only for research purposes.

After receiving your request, the genebanks will contact you directly for further details, including import and phytosanitary requirements and material transfer agreements.

Claims and complaints related to germplasm requests should be addressed to the specific institute concerned, not to Genesys. You can find contact information for holding institutes in our data provider directory, the FAO WIEWS database, or any internet search engine.