The 1992 Global Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro) specified the need to make biodiversity data available "despite imperfections, rather than holding back information until more polished products are completed." Few organizations have done so. This Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew, UK) genome biodiversity database is one valuable exception. Founded in 1759, the Royal Botanic Gardens,...

Gramene is a "curated, open-source, Web-accessible data resource for comparative genome analysis in the grasses," funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. The searchable database, containing data derived from related public projects, may be queried with the rice genome browser, blast search, map search, or phenotype search, to name just a few. Gramene is frequently updated; recent...

This website is the homepage of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), "an international research institute with a mandate to advance the conservation and use of genetic diversity for the well-being of present and future generations." The site is packed with informative resources on agricultural biodiversity, including IPGRI breaking news, downloadable publications, links to...

This website describes DNA Banking at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The site provides brief sections covering background, goals, and organization of the collection. A link is provided to the Applied Research DNA Specimen Database which "is organized alphabetically by plant family, genus, and species and individual taxa can be selected to display information on samples in the collection." This...

This database from the University of California and the San Diego Supercomputer Center "is part of the Plant Genome Program for the National Science Foundation." The information contained within the site focuses on genes involved in transport and uptake of plant nutrients. Users can perform a variety of different searches and limit the results by species, if desired. Users can also register to...