Maize Genomics and Genetics 2025, Vol.16, No.2, 60-69 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/mgg 67 8.2 Standardization of germplasm evaluation The management of corn germplasm resources is not an easy job. Standards vary from place to place, making it very difficult to operate. Although studies in the 1990s provided a good way to maintain genetic diversity (Crossa et al., 1994), the actual implementation was always a little lacking. Recently, standardized phenotyping technology has been developed (Prasanna et al., 2021), making resource evaluation much smoother. However, in order to achieve cross-regional resource sharing (Yang et al., 2011), technical standards alone may not be enough, and the actual conditions in various places must also be taken into account. Unified standards are of course important, but some flexibility must be left in actual operations. 8.3 Multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation Germplasm resource protection is something that cannot be solved by a single discipline. When fields such as genetics and agronomy come together, new ideas can often be generated - although there are many communication barriers between disciplines in actual operations. For example, breeding with doubled haploid technology, combined with high-throughput phenotyping analysis, has indeed achieved good results (Prasanna et al., 2021). But then again, technology alone is not enough, and cooperation between the government and enterprises is also crucial. After all, they have to build bridges to promote new varieties. Of course, this cross-border cooperation model may have to be adapted to local conditions for each project. 8.4 International cooperation and data sharing When it comes to corn germplasm resources, global collaboration is becoming increasingly important. Although each country has its own resource bank, international organizations such as NPGS do provide a lot of high-yield germplasm (Kurtz et al., 2016). Interestingly, international agreements such as ITPGRFA make resource exchange much smoother, but there are still various problems in specific implementation. Of course, resource sharing alone is not enough. Collaborative breeding projects such as those mentioned by Ortiz et al. (2010) may be more practical. After all, food security is a global challenge. Although the breeding goals of different countries may be different, data sharing and cooperation can indeed make germplasm resources more valuable (Kurtz et al., 2016). Acknowledgments Many thanks to Dr. Huang for his support and assistance in literature review and data analysis. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The author affirms that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. References Andorf C., Beavis W.D., Hufford M., Smith S., Suza W.P., Wang K., Woodhouse M., Yu J., and Lübberstedt T., 2019, Technological advances in maize breeding: past, present and future, Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 132(3): 817-849. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-019-03306-3 Badr A., El-Shazly H.H., Tarawneh R.A., and Börner A., 2020, Screening for drought tolerance in maize (Zea mays L.) germplasm using germination and seedling traits under simulated drought conditions, Plants, 9(5): 565. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9050565 Bellon M.R., and Risopoulos J., 2001, Small-scale farmers expand the benefits of improved maize germplasm: a case study from Chiapas, Mexico, World Development, 29(5): 799-811. Budhlakoti N., Kushwaha A.K., Rai A., Chaturvedi K.K., Kumar A., Pradhan A.K., Kumar U., Kumar R.R., Juliana P., Mishra D.C., and Kumar S., 2022, Genomic selection: a tool for accelerating the efficiency of molecular breeding for development of climate-resilient crops, Frontiers in Genetics, 13: 832153. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.832153 Byerlee D., 2020, The globalization of hybrid maize, 1921–70, Journal of Global History, 15(1): 101-122. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1740022819000354 Cai Y.F., Chen B., Hou J.F., Zhao F.C., Wang G.Y., and Cai R.X., 2024, Genetic structure and diversity in Zea genus: implications for conservation and breeding, Maize Genomics and Genetics, 15(2): 70-79. Crossa J., Pérez-Rodríguez P., Cuevas J., Montesinos-López O., Jarquín D., de Los Campos G., Burgueño J., González-Camacho J.M., Pérez-Elizalde S., Beyene Y., Dreisigacker S., Singh R., Zhang X.C., Gowda M., Roorkiwal M., Rutkoski J., and Varshney R.K., 2017, Genomic selection in plant breeding: methods, models, and perspectives, Trends in Plant Science, 22(11): 961-975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2017.08.011
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