The Tropical Plant Germplasm Bank of XTBG (formerly: Rare, Endangered and Endemic Plant Germplasm Bank, REEP), established in 1997, is one of the major germplasm banks in China for the research, collection and conservation of important biological resources.
The TPGB, with storage area of 144 m2 and capacity of 150,000 items, offers perfect conditions for the conservation of wild plant germplasm. It is built according to international counterpart standards, with four main storage rooms at -18oC, 4oC and 15oC respectively for seed storage, a cryobiology facility and a tissue culture repository. It is also equipped with a relatively complete testing system for water content and the viability of seeds.
The seed biology laboratory, with an area of 300 m2, provides the main research methods and facilities for the institution's experiments in plant physiology, cellular and molecular biology.

Based on the techniques of traditional physiology combined with modern molecular biology, especially proteomics methods, the mechanisms of seed desiccation tolerance can be deeply explored. Those in-depth molecular explorations are providing scientific guidelines for conservation, exploration and utilization of plant germplasm.