- Chemical and microbial properties of Chinese traditional low-salt fermented whole fish product Suan yu. “The values of Enterobacteria and Pseudomonads were under the detection limits in six different brands” is about the best that can be said for it.
- Tapping into yeast diversity. Some new, diverse wild lineages in China may tell us important things about yeast ecology, evolution and domestication.
- Genome size variation among sex types in dioecious and trioecious Caricaceae species. Lots of retrotransposons, and sex chromosomes in some species.
- The Archaic Diet in Mesoamerica: Incentive for Milpa Development and Species Domestication. The diet preceded the crops.
- Genetic diversity and population structure in the rare Algodones sunflower (Helianthus niveus ssp. tephrodes). Low diversity overall, but some populations quite distinct. Which tells you about how to conserve it.
- Albania, the domestication country for pomegranate (Punica granatum L.). Well, maybe.
- Mixtures of genetically modified wheat lines outperform monocultures. Two transgenes are better than one.
- Climate change impacts on crop productivity in Africa and South Asia. -8% overall. The surprise? Sorghum declines more than maize in Africa, less in S Asia.
Nibbles: Using genebanks, Fonio collecting, Bean breeding, Caribbean PGR networking, Cotton breeding, Conflict prevention, Beer foam characterization, Soil microbes, 7ITS
- IRRI DG on the Kasalath story and its wider implications.
- French collect fonio. Glad someone is.
- CIAT bean breeder complains about having too much diversity to play with.
- Caribbean needs a regional genebank, catalogue of germplasm. What, still?
- Improving cotton in Texas one (or two) chromosomes at the time.
- Managing livestock-predator conflicts. The name of the game is prevention.
- Candidate gene for improved beer foam identified. I knew all that genomics stuff would come in useful eventually.
- Diverse root biome helps plants survive drought.
- Gear up for the 7th International Triticeae Symposium, or 7ITS as it is widely, if unfortunately, known.
Nibbles: Tree diversity, Cacao strategy, IFPRI strategy, Caribbean strategy, Mango conservation strategy, Olive migrations, African cassava, African Striga, Ecosystem services, Model plant
- Oh gosh, it was Tree Diversity Day and nobody told us.
- Bioversity catch up with their own cacao strategy.
- And IFPRI has a new one for you to comment on.
- Caribbean agriculture gets another signed document to help it along. No word on whether agrobiodiversity featured.
- Mango conservation gets organized. But not to the extent of an RSS feed, alas.
- California owes Morocco for its olives.
- Virus-resistant cassava imminent. Haven’t they been saying this for a while now? And is anyone thinking about what will happen to the virus-susceptible varieties?
- Push-pull in the news.
- The cost of everything, and the value of nothing, nature edition.
- What’s the value of Arabidopsis, then?
Biotechnological success stories sought
Do you have examples of
…high impact and/or teachable instances where non-GMO agricultural biotechnologies are, and have been, used to serve the needs of smallholder farmers in developing countries in the crop, forestry, livestock and fisheries sectors.
If so, you might like to know that
FAO is opening a competition to identify … five case studies and the writers that will document them. The selected authors will each receive a small honorarium and will have their authorship reflected on the publication.
The publication being “Case Studies of use of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Developing Countries”, which is intended as a follow-up to FAO’s 2010 International Conference on Agricultural Biotechnologies in Developing Countries. The target audience is non-technical, and the term biotechnology covers a multitude of sins.
Read all the details. Good luck!
Brainfood: Resistances, Seed networks, Medicinal plant protection, Pollinator knowledge gaps
- Indirect Effect of a Transgenic Wheat on Aphids through Enhanced Powdery Mildew Resistance. Plants resistant to fungus have more aphids. Oh dear.
- A case study of seed exchange networks and gene flow for barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare) in Morocco. There is more movement of material among villages than interviews suggest.
- Evaluation of plant-derived products against pests and diseases of medicinal plants: A review. Extracts from some medicinal plants used to protect other medicinal plants.
- Identifying key knowledge needs for evidence-based conservation of wild insect pollinators: a collaborative cross-sectoral exercise. Top one: How important is the diversity of pollinator species to the resilience and reliability of the pollination service? Seems a pretty good start.