---
_id: '34625'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "Seeds have traditionally been collected according to their reproductive cycles,
    i.e. the time when they lose their potential of becoming a\r\nreal plant. Therefore,
    the locations of botanic gardens or seed banks imply\r\nthe vicinity of agricultural
    land. This article exemplifies the transformation\r\nof plant collections into
    gene and data banks by investigating the Svalbard\r\nGlobal Seed Vault (SGSV)
    in Norway and the German Genebank for Fruit\r\nCrops (DGO). It shows that international
    efforts to safeguard biodiversity\r\nby intertwining them with bioinformatics
    infrastructure transform seeds\r\nand other plant genetic material into digitalized
    objects. The almost virtual\r\ngenetic material, now stored without the neighborhood
    of acres or gardens, is, at the same time, seen as “options” for new high-tech
    plants,\r\nwhich might be transplanted to a future territory. Consequently, plant
    varieties are circulating around the globe in form of genetic material and data.\r\nThe
    article shows that the digitalization induces a specific distinction between the
    material and the digital flows of plants. "
alternative_title:
- The Global Circulation of Future Breeding Options and Their Storage in Gene Banks
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Suzana
  full_name: Alpsancar, Suzana
  id: '93637'
  last_name: Alpsancar
citation:
  ama: Alpsancar S. Plants as Digital Things. <i>Tecnoscienza Italian Journal of Science
    &#38; Technology Studies</i>. 2016;7(1):45-66.
  apa: Alpsancar, S. (2016). Plants as Digital Things. <i>Tecnoscienza. Italian Journal
    of Science &#38; Technology Studies</i>, <i>7</i>(1), 45–66.
  bibtex: '@article{Alpsancar_2016, title={Plants as Digital Things}, volume={7},
    number={1}, journal={Tecnoscienza. Italian Journal of Science &#38; Technology
    Studies}, author={Alpsancar, Suzana}, year={2016}, pages={45–66} }'
  chicago: 'Alpsancar, Suzana. “Plants as Digital Things.” <i>Tecnoscienza. Italian
    Journal of Science &#38; Technology Studies</i> 7, no. 1 (2016): 45–66.'
  ieee: S. Alpsancar, “Plants as Digital Things,” <i>Tecnoscienza. Italian Journal
    of Science &#38; Technology Studies</i>, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 45–66, 2016.
  mla: Alpsancar, Suzana. “Plants as Digital Things.” <i>Tecnoscienza. Italian Journal
    of Science &#38; Technology Studies</i>, vol. 7, no. 1, 2016, pp. 45–66.
  short: S. Alpsancar, Tecnoscienza. Italian Journal of Science &#38; Technology Studies
    7 (2016) 45–66.
date_created: 2022-12-20T16:26:15Z
date_updated: 2023-02-27T13:11:21Z
extern: '1'
intvolume: '         7'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: http://www.tecnoscienza.net/index.php/tsj/article/view/252/166
oa: '1'
page: 45-66
publication: Tecnoscienza. Italian Journal of Science & Technology Studies
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2038-3460
publication_status: published
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Plants as Digital Things
type: journal_article
user_id: '57676'
volume: 7
year: '2016'
...