Biobanks, offspring fitness and the influence of developmental plasticity in conservation biology

Mitigation of the widely known threats to the world's biodiversity is difficult, despite the strategies and actions proposed by international agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Nevertheless, many scientists devote their time and effort to finding and implementing various solutions to the problem. One potential way forward that is gaining popularity involves the establishment of biobank programs aimed at preserving and storing germplasm from threatened species, and then using it to support the future viability and health of threatened populations. This involves developing and using assisted reproductive technologies to achieve their goals. Despite considerable advances in the effectiveness of reproductive technologies, differences between the reproductive behavior and physiology of widely differing taxonomic groups mean that this approach cannot be applied with equal success to many species. Moreover, evidence that epigenetic influences and developmental plasticity, whereby it is now understood that embryonic development, and subsequent health in later life, can be affected by peri-conceptional environmental conditions, is raising the possibility that cryopreservation methods themselves may have to be reviewed and revised when planning the biobanks. Here, I describe the benefits and problems associated with germplasm biobanking across various species, but also offer some realistic assessments of current progress and applications.

Evaluating amphibian biobanking and reproduction for captive breeding programs according to the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan objectives

The Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP), published in 2007, is a formal document of international significance that proposed eleven relevant actions for global amphibian conservation. Action seven of the ACAP document addresses the use of amphibian captive programs as a conservation tool. Appendix material under this action explores the potential use of Genome Resource Banking (biobanking) as an urgently needed tool for these captive programs. ACAP proposed twelve objectives for Genome Resource Banking which exhibit little emphasis on reproduction as a vital underlying science for amphibian Captive Breeding Programs (CBP's). Here we have reassessed the original twelve ACAP objectives for amphibian reproduction and biobanking for CBP's as a contribution to future ACAP review processes. We have reviewed recent advances since the original objectives, as well as highlighted weaknesses and strengths for each of these objectives. We make various scientific, policy and economic recommendations based on the current reality and recent advances in relevant science in order to inform future ACAP towards new global objectives. The number of amphibian CBP'S has escalated in recent years and reproductive success is not always easily accomplished. Increases in applied and fundamental research on the natural history and reproductive biology of these species, followed by the appropriate development and application of artificial reproductive technologies (ART's) and the incorporation of genome resource banks (GRB's), may turn CBP's into a more powerful tool for amphibian conservation.