3,037 accessions of rice, 87 of maize, 119 of onions, 132 of hot peppers and 68 of curcubits conserved by Embrapa will now be part of the world's largest seed bank On Friday (10), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) will send 3,438 samples of genetic materials from its collection to compose the world's largest seed bank, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located in Longyearbyen, Norway. The Svalbard Vault was created to provide security copies for the long term conservation of seeds from gene banks all over the planet. It is located within a mountain and was designed to resist climate catastrophes and nuclear explosions; hence the Nordic bank is considered the safest one in physical and environmental terms. The shipment comprises 3,037 accessions of rice, 87 of maize, 119 of onions, 132 of Capsicum peppers and 68 of curcubits (zucchini, squash, melon, cucumber, gherkin, and watermelon), which are to be maintained at a temperature of -18ºC. Accessions are samples of seeds that represent different populations of a given species. The glacial climate of the Arctic ensures low temperatures even in case of power outages. The low temperatures and humidity keep metabolic activity low, and hence seeds remain viable for centuries. Submitting the seeds, according to Celso Moretti, president of Embrapa, gives Brazil visibility in the international landscape, and is an extra conservation effort on top of Embrapa's Gene Bank in Brasília, which is considered the fifth largest in the world. The seeds to be shipped are stored in hermetically-sealed barcoded aluminum packages that have been organized into plastic boxes. The boxes will be sent by post to Oslo, in Norway. From Oslo, they will move on to the archipelago of Svalbard, in the Arctic Circle. There, on February 25, 2020, the seeds will be deposited at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in a ceremony with the presence of the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, delegates from several countries and representatives from gene banks. Embrapa's Supervisor for Plant Germplasm Curatorships, Rosa Lía Barbieri, will represent Brazil and follow the seed deposit ceremony. The material was recollected from gene banks maintained by Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (Brasília, DF), Embrapa Rice and Beans (Santo Antônio de Goiás, GO), Embrapa Maize and Sorghum (Sete Lagoas, MG), Embrapa Temperate Agriculture (Pelotas, RS) and Embrapa Vegetables (Brasília, DF). In 2014, Embrapa sent 514 bean accessions, and in 2012, 264 maize and 541 rice ones. The initiative results from a an agreement between Embrapa and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food that was signed in 2008. Translation: Mariana Medeiros