Due to the ever greater requirements which must be satisfied by cultiv
ated plant varieties and hybrids, breeders have made great efforts to
incorporate the most efficient genes determining important agronomic p
roperties environmental stress resistance and quality into new genotyp
es. There is, however, a danger that the wide-ranging use of genetic s
ources of indentical origin will lead to an ever greater similarity be
tween new plant varieties developed in various countries, with a conse
quent reduction in genetic diversity and a genetic impoverishment of t
he cultivated varieties. There is thus every justification for the dev
elopment of a wheat species collection in the Agricultural Research In
stitute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In recent years, genetic
, biochemical and physiological experiments have already been conducte
d in the institute on species belonging to the Triticum genus. Hybridi
sation using wild species bearing traits useful in wheat breeding also
has a long tradition. The institute's gene bank currently contains no
t only 3150 varieties, but also 1299 wheat genotypes and other cereal
species (Agropyron, Hordeum, Avena, Secale, Haynaldia etc.), together
with genetically valuable stocks developed in the institute or obtaine
d for research purposes from foreign gene banks. In addition to collec
ting and storing gene cources and to indentifying and classifying cere
al species, the gene bank is involved in the preparation of a catalogu
e containing the major morphological and economic properties of the sp
ecies, together with spike photographs and the electrophoretic spectra
of the storage proteins.