May 5, 2014May 5, 2014 by Luigi Guarino

Brainfood: Grasspea genomics, Eggplant genomics, Snakegourd hybrids, Bean drought resistance, Wild pear diversity, CNN 51 deconstructed, Sicilian grape diversity, Cash in the Usambaras, Kenyan sorghum diversity, Chinese sesame diversity, Chinese millet breeding

Large-scale microsatellite development in grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.), an orphan legume of the arid areas. Let the Grasspea Revolution begin.
High resolution map of eggplant (Solanum melongena) reveals extensive chromosome rearrangement in domesticated members of the Solanaceae. Let the Eggplant Revolution begin.
Genetic variability in snakegourd (Tricosanthes cucurminata). The Hybrid Snakegourd Revolution is one I’d really like to see.
Differentially Expressed Genes during Flowering and Grain Filling in Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Grown under Drought Stress Conditions. We know the drought resistance genes.
Chloroplast DNA-based genetic diversity and phylogeography of Pyrus betulaefolia (Rosaceae) in Northern China. 3 particularly diverse populations, probably refugia, plus 3 others, identified for conservation.
Genetic Characterization of the Cacao Cultivar CCN 51: Its Impact and Significance on Global Cacao Improvement and Production. It’s high yielding, resistant to lots of stuff, variable, and an important breeding resource. But it tastes like shit.
Genotyping of Sicilian grapevine germplasm resources (V. vinifera L.) and their relationships with Sangiovese. Wait, Sangiovese was originally from Sicily?
Allanblackia, butterflies and cardamom: sustaining livelihoods alongside biodiversity conservation on the forest–agroforestry interface in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. My money is on the butterflies.
Influence of Ethnolinguistic Diversity on the Sorghum Genetic Patterns in Subsistence Farming Systems in Eastern Kenya. Pattern of sorghum diversity correlates with language groups, not morphology. Improved varieties get given local names and slowly merge with landraces.
Genetic analysis and molecular characterization of Chinese sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars using Insertion-Deletion (InDel) and Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers. Improved varieties have narrower genetic base than landraces. Move along there, nothing to see here.
Innovation of the New Superior Quality Foxtail Millet [Setaria italica (L.) P.Beauv] Variety-Jigu32 with Characteristics of Stress Resistance, Stable and High Yield and Its Physiological Mechanism. This looks like a really dodgy journal. Apologies to them if they’re not, but those ads at the bottom are weird. Anyway, this paper seems to describe the canonical genebank success story: assemble a diverse germplasm collection, evaluate the hell out of it, pick the best, fiddle with them, evaluate the hell out of the results, end up with something better than you started with. Maybe those sesame breeders could learn something…

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1. A paean to diverse diets is just what we all need.
2. And another one, from the MIT Technology Review of all places.
3. Menawhile, there’s only one reference to dietary diversity in the World Bank’s investment framework for nutrition.
4. Maybe you have to quantify that diversity before you can save it? Now where have I heard that before?
5. Meanwhile, Europe reports on biodiversity-friendly farming practices. Does that include the biodiversity of the actual crops? Perhaps surprisingly, yes!
6. You want biodiversity-friendly farming practices? Talk to Indigenous people. The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has launched an e-consultation on “Preserving, strengthening and promoting Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems and traditional practices for sustainable food systems.”
7. There’s diversity in asparagus too.
8. Genebanks can help with those biodiversity-friendly practices, diverse diets and rops and Indigenous practices.
9. Even big international genebanks.
10. Even the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
11. But some are in trouble.
12. Though others are coming back.
Published on November 7, 2024