- International Lima Bean Network: from the origin of the species to modern plant breeding. And you can join it here.
- Solving the mystery of Obake rice in Africa: population structure analyses of Oryza longistaminata reveal three genetic groups and evidence of both recent and ancient introgression with O. sativa. The wild African O. longistaminata is closer to Asian O. sativa than to other African wild species, and shows evidence of ancient introgression from O. sativa in southern Africa. Definitely worth a network.
- The origins and evolutionary history of feral apples in southern Canada. They are mainly recombinants involving early heritage cultivars, with no hybridization with local wild species. So, not like rice in Africa.
- Can seed exchange networks explain the morphological and genetic diversity in perennial crop species? The case of the tropical fruit tree Dacryodes edulis in rural and urban Cameroon. Cities are hotspots of African plum diversity because people bring in tress from all over the place. So, a bit like apples in Canada.
- Ancient Potato Varieties of the Canary Islands: Their History, Diversity and Origin of the Potato in Europe. “The Andes end in the Canary Islands.” A bit like how the Caucasus ends in Canada?
- Functional diversification of a wild potato immune receptor at its center of origin. Wild species can be used to improve the late blight tolerance of cultivated potatoes.
- Limited-transpiration trait in response to high vapor pressure deficit from wild to cultivated species: study of the Lens genus. Wild species can be used to improve the drought tolerance of cultivated lentils.
- A Tunisian wild grape leads to metabolic fingerprints of salt tolerance. Wild species can be used to improve the salt tolerance of cultivated grapes.
- Characterization of the genetic composition and establishment of a core collection for the INERA Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) field genebank from the Democratic Republic of Congo. From 730 shrubs to 263 unique genotypes to 10 plants with 93% of the alleles. Some wild stuff involved. Do the same for African plum?
- Genetic diversity within landraces of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and its implications on germplasm collection and utilization. Maybe we should do core collections for each landrace?
- Phenotyping and identification of target traits for de novo domestication of wheat wild relatives. Maybe we should try it with that wild African rice too.
Brainfood: Maize, Chickpea, CWR, Canola, Coconut, Avocado, Eggplant, Carrot, Watermelon, Citrus, Potato, Pearl millet, Roses
- A New Methodological Approach to Detect Microcenters and Regions of Maize Genetic Diversity in Different Areas of Lowland South America. Multiple disciplines identify 4 microcenters of maize diversity in the lowlands of South America.
- Historical Routes for Diversification of Domesticated Chickpea Inferred from Landrace Genomics. Genomics identifies both Indian and Middle Eastern traces in Ethiopian chickpeas.
- Crop wild relatives in Lebanon: mapping the distribution of Poaceae and Fabaceae priority taxa for conservation planning. Spatial analysis identifies a couple of key ex situ and in situ conservation areas for CWR in Lebanon.
- Analysis of gaps in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) collections in European genebanks. Spatial analysis identifies a few key ex situ and in situ conservation areas for rapeseed wild relatives in Europe.
- Genomic and population characterization of a diversity panel of dwarf and tall coconut accessions from the International Coconut Genebank for Latin America and Caribbean. Characterization of various sorts identifies different Atlantic and Pacific coconut genepools in the Western Hemisphere.
- Pleistocene-dated genomic divergence of avocado trees supports cryptic diversity in the Colombian germplasm. Genomics identifies a uniquely Colombian avocado genepool.
- Analysis of >3400 worldwide eggplant accessions reveals two independent domestication events and multiple migration-diversification routes. Genomics identifies separate Southeast Asia and Indian areas of domestication, and limited exchange between them.
- Population genomics identifies genetic signatures of carrot domestication and improvement and uncovers the origin of high-carotenoid orange carrots. Genomics identifies wester-central Asia as the area of carrot domestication in the Early Middle Ages, and western Europe as the place where the orange variant was selected in the Renaissance.
- A Citrullus genus super-pangenome reveals extensive variations in wild and cultivated watermelons and sheds light on watermelon evolution and domestication. Pangenomics identifies a gene in wild Kordofan melons as promoting the accumulation of sugar in watermelon.
- Pangenome analysis provides insight into the evolution of the orange subfamily and a key gene for citric acid accumulation in citrus fruits. Pangenomics identifies south central China as the primary centre of origin of the genus Citrus.
- Pangenome analyses reveal impact of transposable elements and ploidy on the evolution of potato species. Pangenomics identifies wild species from North and Central America as having lots of genes for abiotic stress response, but also fewer transposable elements.
- Pangenomic analysis identifies structural variation associated with heat tolerance in pearl millet. Pangenomics identifies the key genes and structural variations associated with pearl millet accessions from the most hot and dry places.
- Dark side of the honeymoon: reconstructing the Asian x European rose breeding history through the lens of genomics. Genomics and other data identifies a shift from a European to a mainly Asian genetic background in cultivated roses during the 19th century, leading to a narrowing of genetic diversity.
Brainfood: Silvopastoral systems, Livestock sustainability, Brachiaria in Brazil, European haymaking, German Black Pied cattle, Mallards, Pollinators, Metabarcoding
- Global meta-analysis reveals overall benefits of silvopastoral systems for biodiversity. They’re not bad on their own, but the best thing for biodiversity would be to integrate silvopastoral systems with protected areas.
- Priority areas for investment in more sustainable and climate-resilient livestock systems. India, Brazil, China, Pakistan and Sudan, apparently.
- Farming cattle in the tropics: Transnational science and industrializing pastures in Brazil. But would investment in Brachiaria-based silvopastoral systems in Brazil be a good thing? I guess it depends.
- Country Perspectives on Hay-Making Landscapes as Part of the European Agricultural Heritage. No Brachiaria in sight.
- Genomic diversity and relationship analyses of endangered German Black Pied cattle (DSN) to 68 other taurine breeds based on whole-genome sequencing. It has a small population, but this ancestor of the Holstein is still pretty diverse. No word on whether it likes Brachiaria.
- The meaning of wild: Genetic and adaptive consequences from large-scale releases of domestic mallards. “Wild is not singular.” Let that sink in while you contemplate your mallard-based silvopastoral system.
- Key tropical crops at risk from pollinator loss due to climate change and land use. I’m sure the right silvopastoral systems would be great for pollinators.
- eDNA metabarcoding of avocado flowers: ‘Hass’ it got potential to survey arthropods in food production systems? Yes it does. So now we can monitor the performance of those silvopastoral systems pretty easily.
Brainfood: Food insecurity drivers, Agroecology & fertilizers, Overselling GMOs, Genomic prediction, Striga breeding, Farmers’ preferences, Farmers’ WtP, Diversity metrics
- Drivers and stressors of resilience to food insecurity: evidence from 35 countries. Diversify!
- The input reduction principle of agroecology is wrong when it comes to mineral fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa. …but that doesn’t mean agroecology is wrong. So, diversify your mind?
- Genetic modification can improve crop yields — but stop overselling it. Diversify your research teams.
- Genomic predictions to leverage phenotypic data across genebanks. Diversify your training set.
- Harnessing plant resistance against Striga spp. parasitism in major cereal crops for enhanced crop production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review. Diversity within the weed is almost as important as diversity in host resistance, and less studied.
- Farmers’ heterogeneous preferences for traits of improved varieties: Informing demand-oriented crop breeding in Tanzania. Breeders need to take into account farmer diversity too.
- Farmer Risk Preferences and Willingness to Pay for African Rice Landrace Seed: An Experimental Choice Analysis. Farmers are willing to pay for diversity.
- Too simple, too complex, or just right? Advantages, challenges and resolutions for indicators of genetic diversity. What’s the best way to measure diversity anyway?
Branfood: Salinity tolerance, Comestibles, Underused species, On farm diversity, Minor cereals, Fragrant millet, Wild yams, Fonio, Winged bean, Giant taro, Nutmeg, Mungbean, Finger millet, Amaranth
- Salt-Tolerant Crops: Time to Deliver. Sure, breeding for salt tolerance using crop wild relatives is great, but have you tried just domesticating salt-tolerant wild species?
- Wild and cultivated comestible plant species in the Gulf of Mexico: phylogenetic patterns and convergence of type of use. No word on how many are salt-tolerant.
- Underutilized plants increase biodiversity, improve food and nutrition security, reduce malnutrition, and enhance human health and well-being. Let’s put them back on the plate! No word on how many are salt-tolerant.
- Indigenous crop diversity maintained despite the introduction of major global crops in an African centre of agrobiodiversity. If you want local crop diversity in Highland Ethiopia, look for it on the farms of the poorest. No word on how many are “underutilized”.
- The role of minor cereals in food and nutrition security in Bangladesh: constraints to sustainable production. Low yields, apparently. I think it could do with having aromatic grains. If only there was a way to make that happen…
- De novo creation of popcorn-like fragrant foxtail millet. Yeah, sometimes neither the crop not its wild relatives has the genes for it. Still, if you can edit in aroma, why not salt-tolerance?
- Global Genepool Conservation and Use Strategy for Dioscorea (Yam). I wonder how many of these 27 wild species could usefully be domesticated. Or are salt-tolerant.
- Towards conservation and sustainable use of an indigenous crop: A large partnership network enabled the genetic diversity assessment of 1539 fonio (Digitaria exilis) accessions. This is how you start to undo underutilization. I’m sure someone will edit it next.
- Diversity Assessment of Winged Bean [Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.] Accessions from IITA Genebank. Same as above, but with one hundredth as many accessions. I guess winged bean is even more underutilized than fonio.
- The forgotten giant of the Pacific: a review on giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhizos (L.) G.Don). Sad to say it doesn’t seem to be salt-tolerant. Maybe it’s aromatic, though. Or could be gene-edited to become so. Wouldn’t that be something.
- Retracing the center of origin and evolutionary history of nutmeg Myristica fragrans, an emblematic spice tree species. No need for editing, let’s just conserve the really diverse populations of the North Moluccas.
- Demographic history and distinct selection signatures of two domestication genes in mungbean. Domesticating the mungbean wasn’t all that easy. Hope it’s easier for some random salt-tolerant wild species.
- A plausible screening approach for moisture stress tolerance in finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) germplasm accessions using membership function value at the seedling stage. Will it work on fonio? Or salt-tolerance?
- Adoption and impact of improved amaranth cultivars in Tanzania using DNA fingerprinting. So can we stop calling it underutilized? And start gene-editing it for aroma?