Published in Probe Volume 4(3-4): August 1994-January 1995
Database Management Unit of the
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory
Agricultural Research Service
United States Department of Agriculture
GRIN is the database support system for the collection and dissemination of information on the germplasm of plants, animals, insects, microbes and forest trees. These groups comprise the National Genetic Resources Program (NGRP).
One part of the NGRP is the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). The NPGS is a cooperative effort between federal, state and private industries. It has the following mission: to acquire, preserve, evaluate and distribute genetic resources to users worldwide.
GRIN aids the NPGS by providing a way for both suppliers and users of germplasm to:
Diversity and Distribution of Information
America's abundant and inexpensive supply of food is based on intensive agriculture, which relies on genetic uniformity. This uniformity, however, increases the potential for crop vulnerability to pests and stresses. In the face of agriculture's changing needs, scientists must have access to genetic diversity that can help bring forth new varieties that resist pests, diseases and environmental stresses.
The GRIN plant database system consists of over 440,000 discrete accessions. This system serves the needs of plant scientists and other agricultural researchers by providing the following types of data:
Through this system, scientists are able to locate germplasm of interest and request it from the repository.
pcGRIN
pcGRIN is a software package that provides a way to view individual crop information on a personal computer (PC). The information on these crops comes from the GRIN database.
pcGRIN is designed for both experienced and inexperienced users and accommodates most PCs. It provides a series of menus that offer quick, easy access to information in the GRIN database.
pcGRIN does not require a phone line and modem. The only equipment needed is an MS-DOS based microcomputer with at least 640K of memory and a hard drive with 10 to 60 megabytes of free space. The amount of free space needed depends on the crop(s).
The Internet
GRIN
The GRIN system is represented on the Internet using World Wide Web or Gopher servers.
If you have access to the World Wide Web, our URL (Universal Resource Locator) is: http://www.ars-grin.gov
Our Gopher server can be reached by typing: gopher gopher.ars-grin.gov
In some Gopher lists, we can be found as: GRIN, National Genetic Resources Program, USDA-ARS
pcGRIN
pcGRIN also is available by anonymous FTP on the Internet, and can be downloaded onto your machine by following these steps:
LAMP
Eleven Latin American countries plus the United States participated in the evaluation of 15,000 varieties of maize. The data from these evaluations describe the characteristics of the plants grown in their respective regions. Later stages of the project will use these characteristics to help create new high yielding varieties and hybrids.
The first and second stages of results were put on a CD-ROM by the GRIN Database Management Unit (DBMU).
Also included on the CD-ROM is maize data from Agriculture Canada, CIMMYT, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. With the extra space on the CD-ROM, the DBMU added data of 25 other crops in GRIN that are important in the Americas.
Stage four data will be included in the next version of the CD-ROM and should be available in the spring of 1995.
Further Interest and Questions
If you would like more information on GRIN, pcGRIN, or LAMP, contact:
The GRIN Database Management Unit
USDA, ARS
10300 Baltimore Blvd.
Bldg. 003, Room 407
Beltsville, MD 20705
Phone: (301) 504-5666
Fax: (301) 504-5536
e-mail: grin@ars-grin.gov