Wheat grain makes an important contribution to the Australian economy in terms of gross agricultural production value and export income. This success is predicated on the availability of improved wheat varieties, whose development is supported from the outset by access to plant genetic resources (PGRs) imported and conserved through the Australian Grains Genebank (AGG) and subsequent underpinning research, development and extension. In the context of global food security and climate change, PGRs are important for the development of climate-change resilient, high-yielding and high-value wheat varieties into the future.

Here, we describe a 5 year $30M strategic investment by the Grains Research and Development Corporation and Agriculture Victoria that is transforming the AGG from a traditional seedbank into a bio-digital resource center. The investment aims to unlock the genetic potential of PGRs, which includes about 50 000 wheat accessions, through digital and genomic innovation to enable the AGG to acquire, curate and distribute PGRs more sustainably and efficiently, whilst ensuring that the Australian grains industry has facilitated and informed access to the plant biodiversity it needs to sustain national productivity and resilience targets into the future.