I’d go for sequencing all the DNA and storing it digitally in multiple locations. Then not only everybody could see the genome of any stored strain, but also could borrow genes for new variants, and in case of need resurrect the old heirloom ones by ordering the DNA from the sequence.
A complementary approach to the physical storage of seed samples. Anybody then could have the gene bank on their hard drive. Put it on bittorrent and anybody could get a copy of their own.
…then we need cheap, affordable DNA “printers”. I’d have some idea…
