The history of the National Centre for Biodiversity and Gene Conservation (Nemzeti Biodiverzitás- és Génmegőrzési Központ – NBGK) dates back to 1885 when Lajos Szelényi (1794-1888) donated his lands located around Tápiószele to the National Hungarian Agricultural Society as a Foundation aiming at the creation of an Educational Institution. Later in 1959 the Institute of Agrobotany (Tápiószele) was founded here with the leadership of Andor Jánossy. The name of the institute has been changed to Centre for Plant Diversity on 1st November 2010, and then again to National Centre for Biodiversity and Gene Conservation on 1st June 2019. The newly established institute is the result of the fusion of the Institute for Farm Animal Gene Conservation (located in Gödöllő) and the Centre for Plant Diversity (located in Tápiószele). The former is now called the Gene Conservation Institute of Farm Animals, while the latter became the so-called Plant Genetic Resources Institute of the National Centre for Biodiversity and Gene Conservation.