BIG as a Joint Project

Four partner institutions with extensive databases on wild and cultivated plants are jointly developing the BundesInformationssystem Genetische Ressourcen (Federal Information System on Genetic Resources - BIG) as an on-line system for the Internet.

The Federal Office for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz - BfN) in Bonn collects databases on variety inventories (in situ), distributions, populations and the ecology of native wild plants as well as information on the conservation and trade of varieties protected by national and international law.

Plant collections of botanical gardens in Germany (ex situ) are registered and documented by the Botanical Garden of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) for the Association of Botanical Gardens (Verband Botanischer Gärten).

The Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung - IPK) in Gatersleben holds the database of nearly 100,000 cultivated plant accessions of the gene bank (ex situ) and is creating a database on "Mansfeld's World Manual of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops" as well as working on basic questions of cultivated plants taxonomy.

The Information and Coordination Centre for Biological Diversity (Informations- und Koordinationszentrum Biologische Vielfalt - IBV) of the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung - BLE) in Bonn has many years of experience on Internet-based information systems and provides in addition to a number of variety-specific databases the main database on German plant genetic resources on the Internet.

Tasks and Goals

The project goal is to develop an information systen which contains biological, genetic, ecological, economic and geographical information in a single system allowing synergy effects and comprehensive searches.

It is intended to develop technologies which link heterogeneous, decentralised databases in a single on-line information system, so that they allow decentralised searches. A user-friendly navigation system will allow searches for different criteria like for example plant names, breeding-relevant characteristics (value characteristics), geographical references etc. (factual data).

Uses and Target Groups

It is intended that BIG collects the existing data on genetic resources from research activities of institutes associated with German federal and state ministries, universities and research institutions, and makes them available.

Thus, the data can be used by the public sector (for example nature conservation offices), scientists at universities and other research institutions as well as interested private organisations like NGOs. The BIG project is also relevant for the business sector, especially for breeding companies and the nature material industries which use plant ingredients.

Perspectives

The BIG project is designed for the general storing and searching of taxon-related information. The design and its methods and tools can be used for other organisms as well. Thus, a model procedure for on-line information is provided which can be applied to other data collections.

BIG is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung - BMBF) and at the moment has been approved for three years (1998 to 2001).

BIG Partners

Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN)
Contact: Dr. Hans G. Fink
Konstantinstraße 110
53179 Bonn
Tel: ++49-(0)228-8491-1446; Fax: 0228-8491-9999
E-mail: finkhg@bfn.de

Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB)
Lehrstuhl Spezielle Botanik und Botanischer Garten
Contact: Prof. Dr. Thomas Stützel
Universitätsstraße 150
48801 Bochum
Tel: ++49-(0)234-32-23098; Fax: ++49-(0)234-32-14423
E-mail: thomas.stuetzel@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gene Bank
Contact: Dr. Helmut Knüpffer
Corrensstraße 3
06466 Gatersleben
Tel: ++49-(0)39482-5-283; Fax: ++49-(0)39482-5-155
E-mail: knupffer@ipk-gatersleben.de

Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE),
Information and Coordination Centre Biological Diversity (IBV)
Contact: Dr. Frank Begemann
Deichmanns Aue 29
53179 Bonn
Tel: ++49-(0)228-6845-3239; Fax: ++49-(0)228-6845-3787
E-mail: frank.begemann@ble.de

BIG Co-ordination:
Siegfried Harrer
BLE / IBV
Tel: ++49-(0)228-6845-3240; Fax: ++49-(0)228-6845-3787
E-mail: siegfried.harrer@ble.de

Contents of BIG

BIG gives the user concrete information (factual data) about plant genetic resources (PGR) on topics like

• taxonomy and systematics,
• distribution and occurence (in situ and ex situ),
• endangerment / protection,
• access / availability,
• ingredients / characteristics,

from specialised databases of the participating institutions, which are proviced in the framework of the project and which BIG virtually links for overall searches. The advantage for the user is the joint presentation of information from decentralised data sources, as well as the linking of distribution and other spatial data with other information and their representation with help of a geographic information system.

This is also the main difference between BIG and the Information System on Genetic Resources - GENRES - (http://www.genres.de/genres-e.htm). GENRES contains descriptive information on information (meta data). In form of a catalogue it refers to relevant information sources like for example

• facts about institutions, literature and projects,
• databases on passport, characterising and evaluation data,
• information about taxonomy, use and endangerment of different taxa, and
• information about German, European and international measures and political frameworks.

As participants in the project, the BIG partners provide the following databases which for searches are virtually linked by BIG:

Information Network Plants & Vegetation (FloraWeb)

• Distribution data and situation of the population (FLORKART)
• Information on endangerment: federal and state Red Lists
• Taxonomy und systematics
• Informationen on distribution (spatial)

Database WISIA (Scientific Information System in Species Protection)

• Protection status of species appearing in trade according to international and national agreements and laws
• Distribution based on countries of origin

SysTax - Botanical Garden Information System

• Data on living material from until now 18 botanical gardens
• Information from reference collections (herbaria)
• Taxonomic data (systematics/taxonomy/naming)
• Pictures
• Distributions
• Literature references

Mansfeld's World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops (Hanelt, P. & Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (Eds.) 2001: Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops. 1-6: 3716 pp.)

• Information about taxonomy, names, synonyms, folk or common names, distribution, uses, literature on more than 6,000 cultivated plants world-wide

Gene Bank – Search for Accessions

• Data on about 85,000 samples from the Gatersleben gene bank collection on taxonomy and origins

PGRDEU - Collections of Plant Genetic Resources in Germany

• Sample-related and taxonomic information on about 130,000 samples in 40 German ex-situ collections

FGRDEU - Forest Genetic Resources in Germany

• Information on In situ - and Ex situ - conservation of forest genetic resources in Germany (more than 100 important forest trees and woody shrub species)