General crop information

* Where can I find information about lesser-known Andean root and tuber crops (maca, yacon, ulluco, arracacha, mauka, achira, ahipa, mashua, oca)?
* Where I can find out about the history/introduction of the potato crop worldwide?

CIP germplasm

* Where can I get information about CIP germplasm?
* What plant species does CIP work on?

* How many native varieties of potatoes does CIP maintain?
* What type of germplasm does CIP distribute?
* What is the protocol for transfer of CIP's genetic resources? [See also: "Yacon Debate"]
* What are the agreements governing the use of CIP crop collection?
* What is the procedure for requesting germplasm from CIP?
* How much does the germplasm cost?

Intellectual Property Rights

* Can I use CIP germplasm for commercial purposes?
* Is CIP's germplasm rights-protected?
* Can I apply for intellectual property rights (IPR) to germplasm I recieve from CIP?

Biotechnology

* What is a "marker" and how does it differ from a "gene" in biotechnology studies?

CIP Germplasm

Q: Where can I get information about CIP's germplasm?
A: Information on passport and evaluation data for all crops maintained by CIP is available on the SINGER website: singer.cgiar.org. For more information about wild Solanum, see: www.potgenebank.org/ipd/

Q: What plant species does CIP work on?
A: CIP works on 11 cultivated plants and their wild relatives: Potato (Solanum tuberosum), sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) and 9 Andean root and tuber crops: Oca (Oxalis tuberosa Molina), Ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus Caldas), Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum R.& P.), Arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancroft), Yacon [Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poeppig & Engler)] H. Robinson, Achira (Canna indica L.), Ahipa (Pachyrhizus ahipa (Weddell) Parodi), Ahipa (Pachyrhizus tuberosus (Lamarck) Sprengel), Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walpers), Mauka (Mirabilis expansa R.& P.).

Q: What type of germplasm does CIP distribute?
A: CIP distributes native and wild species germplasm as well as advanced breeding lines useful as progenitors or for varietal release. The germplasm is available in the form of seeds, invitro plantlets or tubers (for potato). See CIP's material transfer agreements (MTAs) for more information about germplasm distribution.

Q: How much does the germplasm cost?
A: The germplasm is freely available to bonafide researchers. A shipping and handling fee for cost recovery is charged to private companies

Q: How many native varieties of potatoes does CIP maintain?
A: CIP maintains about 5000 native potato cultivars and 2400 wild Solanum species in its long-term holdings.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

Q: Can I use CIP germplasm for commercial purposes?
A: Yes. Although CIP distributes genetic material for research and breeding purposes only, eventual commercialization by recipients is allowed. Furthermore, CIP respects any officially recognized breeders' rights for genetic materials generated by other institutions. CIP may also distribute such material, for research purposes only. Owners of the officially recognized breeder rights must be consulted for any intended commercial use. CIP asks to be notified of any commercialization of CIP-distributed germplasm.

Q: Is CIP's germplasm rights-protected?
A: All germplasm distributed by CIP is accompanied by a Material Transfer Agreement, which specifies conditions on rights protection. For designated germplasm, the recipient must agree to not claim ownership of or seek Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for the requested germplasm (or any related information). For non-designated germplasm, the recipient must agree to not seek Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for the requested germplasm, except in special cases, through prior consultation with CIP (in which case the recipient may be granted permission to seek IPR).

Q: Can I apply for intellectual property rights (IPR) to germplasm I receive from CIP?
A: If the germplasm is designated, then you are not allowed to seek IPR over the germplasm or related information. If the germplasm is non-designated, CIP may, in some cases, grant recipient permission to seek IPR (specific IPR requests may be directed to: CIP-DDG-Research).

Biotechnology

Q: What is a "marker" and how does it differ from a "gene" in biotechnology studies?
A: A marker is a visible or otherwise detectable tag that is used to track or monitor genetic differences/changes in a target organism, population, etc. It may well be a gene, but is not necessarily so. It may be a phenotype (morphological, biochemical, or molecular), with any of a number of causes (each of which has a genetic basis) but is not necessarily a gene itself (ie, the marker may not generate a known, or even an unknown, RNA, enzyme or protein, which a gene must do). It may be a genetic difference (with respect to the organisms targeted for distinction) in a non-gene or gene region but too small to affect the gene product (eg, a single base pair, etc.)

Markers are used in certain studies as opposed to genes because they are easily detectable, neutral, robust (with respect to environment) and ubiquitous.

A similar study with genes would require either DNA sequencing, protein separation, or some other method designed to distinguish gene structures, products, expression patterns, etc.