Tanksley S D, McCouch S R
Department of Plant Breeding, 252 Emerson Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Science. 1997 Aug 22;277(5329):1063-6. doi: 10.1126/science.277.5329.1063.
Nearly a century has been spent collecting and preserving genetic diversity in plants. Germplasm banks-living seed collections that serve as repositories of genetic variation-have been established as a source of genes for improving agricultural crops. Genetic linkage maps have made it possible to study the chromosomal locations of genes for improving yield and other complex traits important to agriculture. The tools of genome research may finally unleash the genetic potential of our wild and cultivated germplasm resources for the benefit of society.
近一个世纪以来，人们一直在收集和保存植物的遗传多样性。种质库——作为遗传变异储存库的活种子 collection——已被确立为用于改良农作物的基因来源。遗传连锁图谱使研究提高产量及其他对农业至关重要的复杂性状的基因在染色体上的位置成为可能。基因组研究工具最终可能释放我们野生和栽培种质资源的遗传潜力，造福社会。 （注：原文中“living seed collections”这里“collection”翻译为“collection”不太准确，可能是“collection”，可译为“活体种子库”之类，整体译文可能需根据准确原文进一步优化。）
