The world collection of Musa germplasm in the INIBAP Transit Centre at the Catholic University of Leuven conservation strategies and mode of operation.The conservation and international transfer of Musa germplasm is a core activity of the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP). To this end, INIBAP established a Transit Centre (ITC) at the Laboratory of Tropical Crop Improvement of K.U.Leuven in Belgium, a non banana producing country. Plant material from all over the world is deposited at ITC. This global collection of banana and plantain germplasm, comprising approximately 1 100 accessions, is held under the auspices of FAO. The in vitro active collection is stored under slow growth conditions (low illumination and reduced temperature). In order to safeguard the material for the long terni, cryopreservation protocole for banana meristems have been developed. Samples of virus-tested clones are available freely and at no cost from the ITC gene batik on request. Since 1985, over 5 000 samples of accessions have been distributed worldwide to interested parties for specific research, breeding and evaluation, and production. A major constraint for the efficient use of the Musa collection is the limited information available on the genetic resources maintained. Through INIBAP's Musa Germplasm Information System (MGIS), passport, characterization and evaluation data on existing collections worldwide are being assembled to enhance the knowledge on Musa diversity, rationalize conservation and improve the use by curators, breeders and scientiste