UK’s doomsday ‘Noah’s Ark’ vault now has 2.4 billion seeds in case Apocalypse strikes

UK Minister of State for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs Richard Benyon said: “Kew’s world-leading collection of diverse plants will be an important tool in tackling the challenges facing our nation today.

“This landmark collection acts as a further example of Great Britain’s position as a global leader in plant biosecurity and sets an example for the world to follow.”

The Millennium Seed Bank — which is both bomb- and flood-proof — contains 98.567 seed collections sourced from 190 countries and territories around the world, including 36 different biodiversity hotspots.

Arriving at the Wakehurst site in various forms — sometimes still attached to plants and fruit — seeds are first dried before being cleaned and scanned for signs of pests and poor formation that might affect their prospective germination.

Finally, the seeds are dried once again to extend their storage life, before being placed in sealed glass containers and stored at -4F (-20C), under which conditions they can survive for hundreds of years.

Every decade, however, seeds are withdrawn from the bank to confirm that they are still viable to germinate, and to test protocols to grow the seeds into full-sized plants if needed.

Not all seeds can tolerate being dried. Accordingly, researchers are also developing alternative methods for long-term seed storage, such as via cryo-preservation.

READ MORE: ‘Indestructible’ garden plants that are ‘impossible to kill’

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1745730/uk-doomsday-seed-bank-noahs-ark-plant-apocalypse