BRC4Plants, French network of plant BRCs: History, evolution and current organisation

This history has been marked by changes in ministerial bodies and collaborations between academic and private sector stakeholders. Major milestones have accompanied this history:

• In 1983, the Genetic Resources Office (BRG) was established to coordinate the conservation of genetic resources related to agriculture. ;
• From 2008 onwards, the CRBs' missions were professionalised, often certified according to quality standards, with a desire to bring academic stakeholders closer together. ;
• In 2015, the BRC4Plants network was created, bringing together 21 BRCs, including the National Centre for Plant Genomic Resources (CNRGV). It joined the national research infrastructure RARe (French Network of Biological Resource Centres for Research in Biology, Agronomy and the Environment), supported by INRAE, CIRAD, IRD and their partners CNRS, IFREMER, INSERM, ANSES, agricultural and veterinary schools, as well as universities, which is part of the National Research Infrastructures monitored by the Ministry of Research.

Part of the BRC4Plants network is recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture for national coordination missions for the conservation of genetic resources. It contributes to the French strategy for the conservation of genetic resources for agriculture and collaborates with the National Coordination Structure and the RPG (Plant Genetic Resources) section of the CTPS (Joint Committee on Plants and Seeds) for the recognition of BRCs at national level and the payment of RPGs to the ITPGRFA treaty. At the international level, the network is involved in European projects, participates in the ECPGR and Emphasis initiatives, and contributes to the European EURISCO database. 

Particular attention should be paid to strengthening links between European RPG banks on the one hand, and public and private researchers and innovators on the other.

BRCs offer various services to facilitate access to genetic resources for research, including the collection, conservation, characterisation and distribution of biological material. In 2022, the BRCs in the plant pillar held 214,918 accessions of various cultivated or model species for research purposes. Approximately 13,000 accessions were provided, with 49% going to French public institutes and 37% to foreign institutes. BRCs regularly update their research and development priorities to improve their services. They collaborate with various partners to manage and study biological resources. Approximately 50% are involved in collaborative networks with private sector or non-profit organisations. These partnerships have made it possible to secure and inventory ancient genetic resources. They are also partners in collaborative projects with European infrastructures such as PRO-GRACE. CRB data are stored in the Florilège and EURISCO catalogues managed by the ECPGR. Multi-stakeholder collaboration is essential to improve the efficiency of genetic resource conservation and the management of associated data.

BRC4Plants facilitates access to genetic diversity for the development of sustainable food systems and mobilises its resources to support research and innovation in the field of agroecology.
Its national coordination is crucial in contributing to the national strategy in a historical context of decentralisation and in supporting developments shared between different actors. The plant pillar is also committed to the recognition and attractiveness of BRCs for their future development and the importance of integrating in situ and ex situ conservation for optimal management.

Through its activities, BRC4Plants plays a key role in responding to the societal and scientific challenges of agroecological transition and climate change mitigation, and contributes to the concept of "ONE-HEALTH".

Contact : contact-BRC4Plants@inrae.fr

Reference : Bergheaud, V., Audergon, J.-M., Bellec, A., Delaunay, A., Duminil, J., Dussert, S., Esnault, F., Geoffriau, E., Gouesnard, B., Jenny, C., Label , A., Lashermes , P., Maghnaoui, N., Marchal, C., Nuissier, F., Paulo-de-la-Réberdiere, N., Priet, A., Riecau, V., Térès, P. and Adam-Blondon, A.-F. (2025) “Organization of plant Biological Resource Centers for research in France: History, evolution and current status”, Genetic Resources, (S2), pp. 78–90. doi: 10.46265/genresj.ASZO2413