Ex situ conservation of medicinal plants genetic resources: Theultimate solution for preventing extinction

Ex situ conservation is the preservation of plant species outside of their natural habitats. This type ofconservation is important for protecting plant species, especially species of medicinal plants that arein danger and threatened by environmental factors such as habitat destruction, climate change, andover-harvesting. This can involve collecting seeds and other plant materials, preparation, and storagein different collections. These methods, as those set up at the Iranian Biological Resource Center(IBRC), include seedbank, in vitro and cryobank, DNA bank, botanical garden, field genebank, andherbarium. The advantages of ex situ conservation methods include the preservation of the geneticmaterial, protection from extinction, and the ability to use the stored material for research anddevelopment purposes, which can lead to the discovery of new components and innovative uses forthese plants and ensure that their medicinal properties are not lost forever. However, there are alsosome disadvantages to ex situ conservation methods. The cost of maintaining these facilities can behigh, and there is a risk of losing the stored material due to a lack of proper maintenance or due tonatural disasters. However, the development of plant gene bank activities can be important for the exsitu conservation of these valuable genetic resources for agricultural and breeding programs. Totally,considering that there are many successful reports regarding the ex situ conservation of rare andendangered medicinal plants, it is recommended that governments, organizations, and the privatesector invest in the development and maintenance of these facilities to ensure the preservation ofthese valuable plant resources for future generations.