DNA – Page 70 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

Brainfood: Lathyrus sativus, Leafy green porridge, iDArTs, Pungency, Earth ovens, Domestication, Recovery, Maize genomics

Exploring the genetic diversity of Ethiopian grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) using EST-SSR markers. They’re variable, especially in Gonder, and future collecting missions need to give “due attention to underrepresented regions”.
Green leafy porridges: how good are they in controlling glycaemic response?. Pretty good, but the leafy greens may not be what you’re expecting.
iDArTs: increasing the value of genomic resources at no cost. No cost for genotyping, that is; the analysis probably does cost.
A versatile PCR marker for pungency in Capsicum spp. Beats having to taste each progeny plant, I suppose.
Earth Ovens (Píib) in the Maya Lowlands: Ethnobotanical Data Supporting Early Use. The food preparation method is as old as the food itself; 3400-3000 bce.
Patterns and processes in crop domestication: an historical review and quantitative analysis of 203 global food crops. Terrific, broad survey, worth more of a write-up.
Changes in Avian and Plant Communities of Aspen Woodlands over 12 Years after Livestock Removal in the Northwestern Great Basin. Removing livestock leads to “recovery of biological integrity”. Because livestock are not integral to anything.
Historical genomics of North American maize. Fascinating analysis indicates selection based on a limited set of ancestor lines, and “decreased diversity in the ancestry of individual lines”.

No bananas without soil nutrients.
Perhaps the back story to the banana genome can fix that.
Coupla big Moringa meets coming up in November.
Britain goes for gold in the jumping-on-the-Olympic-bandwagon-to-solve-global-hunger event.
And CEO of Cargill offers coaching: be flexible, try harder.
Deforestation in Guatemala and Belize. I love it when I can see geopolitics from space.
Help Kew digitise its diversity.
FarmAfrica celebrates non-timber forest products in Tanzania.
Which could be of interest to Tanzanian farmers who have experienced the future of climate change.
Nepali farmers say they’ve been hit hard by climate change.
But it is not the reason for the climb of the desert ceanothus.
Americans about to embrace colourful potatoes. Aren’t they always?
The 2013 Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships are now open. Apply here.
Seth Roberts says “I want to take this! Harvard class on fermented food.” Me too.

More US drought data and some insights into the drought’s impact: it’s affecting the Black Sea region too.
Another reason to improve childhood nutrition – it improves Olympic medal prospects.
Grist gets stuck into the GMO potatoes debate. It’s about diversity, Dummie. Not that anyone cares.
Brewing stone age beer. “The minor details make beer brewing exciting.” I’ll bet.
The long, straight dope on a food industrialist’s approach to better fast food.
Diversifying inputs increases Rwandan coffee farmers’ profits.

Climate Adaptation Country Profiles from the World Bank. Better than you might think.
You don’t need the whole genome, apparently. Now they tell us.
Where the global food industry is going. Some opportunities there if you think agrodiversity is important, Shirley.
Wait, there’s a 6-day international event on gelato?

The Search for Value and Meaning in the Cocoa Supply Chain in Costa Rica. Organic and Fairtrade are all very well, but watch out for “integration of the story of producers’ commitment and dedication; shared producer and consumer values of social and environmental responsibility; and personal relationships between producers and consumers”.
The yak genome and adaptation to life at high altitude. Guess what. They’re genetically adapted to high altitude!
What is Wrong With the Sustainability of Quinoa Production in Southern Bolivia – A Reply to Winkel et al. (2012). One thing that’s wrong is that the link to Winkel et al. is broken. So here it is …
The Sustainability of Quinoa Production in Southern Bolivia: from Misrepresentations to Questionable Solutions. Comments on Jacobsen (2011, J. Agron. Crop Sci. 197: 390–399). You can make your own way further down the rabbit hole.