Biotechnology – Page 31 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

September 4, 2017September 5, 2017

GPGR4 busy distracting genebanks in Giessen

The 4th International Symposium on Genomics of Plant Genetic Resources is off and running in Giessen, Germany, with a packed programme of cool examples of the application of the latest gizmos and fancy maths to the conservation and use of crop diversity. And yes, there’s a hashtag. As ever, if you’re there, and would like to blog the proceedings for us, the door is open, drop us a line.

August 28, 2017September 4, 2017

Brainfood: DNA barcoding, Extremophiles, Chinese wild walnut, Sheep breeders, Argentinian beans, Biobanks QMS, E African seed systems, Apulian vines, People & diversity, Ancient farmers

Identification of zucchini varieties in commercial food products by DNA typing. You can trace zucchini varieties in food products despite various kinds of processing.
Anaerobic microorganisms in astrobiological analogue environments: from field site to culture collection. Practicing to collect genetic resources on Mars.
Genetic diversity and population structure in the narrow endemic Chinese walnut Juglans hopeiensis Hu: implications for conservation. It’s in trouble.
Do traditional sheep breeders perform conscious selection? An example from a participatory breeding program of Morada Nova sheep. Breeders of purebreds use different criteria to those of crossbreds.
Characterization of common bean wild populations for their in situ conservation in Northwestern Argentina. Some populations should be conserved because they’re pure wild, the rest because they’re not pure wild.
Quality Management System for Research Biobanks: a Tool to Incentivize Public-Private Partnerships. ISO developing a QMS specifically for biobanks. Full text in Google Books.
Cryopreservation of fruit germplasm. Elements of a strategy for Germany.
Implications of Seed Policies for On-Farm Agro-Biodiversity in Ethiopia and Uganda. 117 provisions in 21 national seed policies in coded for implications for availability and accessibility of improved, quality-controlled and genetically diverse local seed in both the formal and informal seed systems. Ok, now what?
Measuring the financial sustainability of vine landraces for better conservation programmes of Mediterranean agro-biodiversity. Landraces are not worth it, because of low yields.
Traditional People, Collectors of Diversity. ‘Nuff said.
Changes in human skull morphology across the agricultural transition are consistent with softer diets in preindustrial farming groups. Cheese changed your skull shape.

August 23, 2017August 23, 2017

Nibbles: Genomic taxonomy, AI taxonomy, Apple history, Polo on sago, Quinoa cooking, Super-crap, Funding conservation, Coffee conservation

Boffins sequence plant in field for real-time identification.
Boffins decide machines do identification better.
Boffins trace apple domestication to Silk Road.
Famous Silk Road traveller on sago.
Thinking up fun ways of cooking another pretty tasteless staple.
Did someone mention super-foodszzzzzzz.
Mongabay: Africa needs creative conservation funding approaches.
Emily Garthwaite: Hold my latte.

June 18, 2017June 18, 2017

Brainfood: Maize regeneration, Watkins collection, Jordan barley landraces, CWR in Europe, Early agriculture, Papaya knowledge, Cryo, Tree diversity, AM, Indegee, Wild beet, Early NE ag, Fire!

Ex-situ conservation of maize germplasm from different latitudes. You can do it, but not without some genetic changes.
High density genotyping of the A.E. Watkins Collection of hexaploid landraces identifies a large molecular diversity compared to elite bread wheat. There’s plenty of interesting variation there, as you’d expect.
Changes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L. subsp. vulgare) genetic diversity and structure in Jordan over a period of 31 years. No significant changes in the amount of genetic diversity in landraces collected in 1981 and in 2012, but later samples more homogenous and less locally distinct.
Crop wild relatives range shifts and conservation in Europe under climate change. We’ll need genebanks.
Isotope evidence for agricultural extensification reveals how the world’s first cities were fed. By opening up new land, basically, and never mind the fancy agronomic practices.
Can the Introduction of Modern Crop Varieties in their Centre of Origin Affect Local Ecological Knowledge? A Case Study of Papaya in the Yucatan Peninsula. Yes, and not in a good way.
Cryopreserved storage of clonal germplasm in the USDA National Plant Germplasm System. It really is a system.
A meta-analysis of molecular marker genetic datasets for eastern Africa trees supports the utility of potential natural vegetation maps for planning climate-smart restoration initiatives. But you still have to do the trials.
Global Diversity and Importance of Mycorrhizal and Nonmycorrhizal Plants. 72% of vascular plants have them.
Factors associated with agrobiodiversity conservation: A case study on conservation of rice varieties in Barak valley, Assam, India. More connections means more varieties.
Crop wild relative populations of Beta vulgaris allow direct mapping of agronomically important genes. Genotyping and phenotyping of 189 wild plants along a 10 km transect allows identification of disease resistance gene in the crops.
Near Eastern Plant Domestication: A History of Thought. The punctuated-centric view is better, according to Occam.
Fire and plant diversity at the global scale. They’re correlated, or at least associated.

Nibbles: Citrus conservation, Amazon civilizations, Agricultural adaptation, Farming First, Communicating impact, Church forests, Food Forever Initiative

Conserving citrus in cryo.
More rethinking of the early civilizations of the Amazon.
Agriculture led to genetic changes in humans as much as in crops and livestock.
Farming First goes all in on the SDGs. Oh, yeah, also I won the quiz. Ka-ching!
Scientists, tell your stories for impact, including on policy.
The sacred forests of Ethiopia, now there’s a story.
The biggest story of them all: Food Forever!

1. What has agrobiodiversity ever done for us? Kent Nnadozie of the Plant Treaty lays it out.
2. Michael Frei of the HealthyDiets4Africa project doesn’t need it laid out.
3. Neither do the people who awarded a prize to Charlotte Allender of the UK Vegetable Genebank.
4. What has the US National Plant Germplasm System ever done for anyone? The Guardian, the NY Times and NPR News lay it out. I guess someone in D.C. needs it laid out, but will it make any difference?
5. Everyone: Potatoes in Florida! Breeders: No problem. NPGS: You called?
6. Here’s The Guardian again, but this time thinking it is making the case for not putting seeds in the fridge, whereas in fact it’s making the case for the complementarity of ex situ and on-farm conservation.
7. Speaking of on-farm conservation, here’s a couple of pieces on community seed banks in Guatemala.
8. Speaking of on-farm conservation, here’s the heart-warming story of Welsh organic farmer Gerald Miles.
9. Meanwhile, the World Vegetable Centre opens a new genebank.
10. And Türkiye hosts an international, no less, olive genebank.
11. And genebanks can be so beautiful, like works of art. Former Tate Modern director Vicente Todolí lays out his citrus samples. I wonder what he could do with olives.
12. Botanic gardens are beautiful and often act a little bit like crop genebanks. Here’s an example from Portugal I stumbled onto recently, I forget how.
13. You know what I’d like to see? An international pepper genebank, that’s what. No, not the kind that might be in those Guatemalan community seedbanks or the WorldVeg genebank. This sort of pepper. Piper pepper.
14. I bet the ancient Egyptians had pepper. Egyptian archaeologist Mennat-Allah El Dorry lays out what else they had.
15. Maybe you could lay out world history using pepper. You can definitely do so using cacao and chocolate.
16. No, not using ancient DNA, but actually…
Published on April 4, 2025