Cereal improvement is based upon effective utilization of genetic resources. These include germplasm and genomics data and tools. Cereal germplasm is available from major global seed banks. Wild material remains an additional less well utilized resource. Sourcing of germplasm requires protocols to ensure intellectual property matters are adequately addressed. Advances in genomics technology have made extensive data set available for the cereals. Reference genome sequences, transcriptome resources, and pan genomes are now available for the major cereal species. The use of genomic data is facilitated by the addition of user-friendly interfaces that allow breeders to access the information they need.
Keywords: DNA sequences; Gene banks; Germplasm; Seed banks.