- Quality characteristics of biscuits prepared from finger millet seed coat based composite flour. They’re nutritious. Crocodile Dundee on the tastiness of the iguana may, however, apply.
- Minerals and trace elements in a collection of wheat landraces from the Canary Islands. There are differences, but environment and agronomic practices could affect them.
- Lowering carbon footprint of durum wheat by diversifying cropping systems. Yes, by 7-34%, depending on how the diversification was done.
- Effect of shading by baobab (Adansonia digitata) and néré (Parkia biglobosa) on yields of millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and taro (Colocasia esculenta) in parkland systems in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Taro is a shade lover; grow it under néré, and vice versa.
- Ethnobotanical, morphological, phytochemical and molecular evidence for the incipient domestication of Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.: Chenopodiaceae) in a semi-arid region of Mexico. Good to know; I love epazote.
- Grape varieties (Vitis vinifera L.) from the Balearic Islands: genetic characterization and relationship with Iberian Peninsula and Mediterranean Basin. See the grand sweep of European history unfold.
- Microsatellite characterization of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) genetic diversity in Asturias (Northern Spain). No evidence of communication with the previous group.
- Plant economy of the first farmers of central Belgium (Linearbandkeramik, 5200–5000 b.c.). They were dope fiends.
- Selection for earlier flowering crop associated with climatic variations in the Sahel. Compared to 1976 millet samples, samples collected in 2003 had shorter lifecycle (due to an early flowering allele at the PHYC locus increasing in frequency), and a reduction in plant and spike size. So you don’t need new varieties, the old ones will adapt to climate change. Oh, and BTW, there’s been no genetic erosion.
- Do species’ traits predict recent shifts at expanding range edges? No.
- The domestication syndrome genes responsible for the major changes in plant form in the Triticeae crops. Failure to disarticulate and 6-rows in barley, in detail. Part of a Special Issue on Barley.
- The genetics of colour in fat-tailed sheep: a review. I didn’t know karakul had fat tails.
New insights into barley domestication
We asked one of the co-authors, Ian Dawson, who’s an old friend, to briefly summarize for us a paper just out in New Phytologist on the domestication of barley. Here is his contribution. Thanks a lot, Ian, and keep ’em coming…
The power of new technologies to explore crop evolution is illustrated by a just released paper by Russell and co-workers ((Russell, J., Dawson, I., Flavell, A., Steffenson, B., Weltzien, E., Booth, A., Ceccarelli, S., Grando, S., & Waugh, R. (2011). Analysis of 1000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in geographically matched samples of landrace and wild barley indicates secondary contact and chromosome-level differences in diversity around domestication genes New Phytologist DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03704.x)) that explores barley domestication in the Fertile Crescent, a key region in the development of farming. From assessing a collection of more than 1,000 genetically mapped, genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in geographically-matched landrace and wild barley accessions from Jordan and Syria, genetic contact between the two categories was evident, suggesting hybridisation may be a mechanism for the continued adaptation of landraces in the region under climate change. In addition, statistically significant chromosome-level differences in diversity between barley types were observed around genes known to be involved in the evolution of cultivars, indicating regions of the genome that may be subject to selection and therefore of interest in future crop breeding. For example, a significant reduction in diversity in landrace barley –- which suggests a genetic bottleneck during domestication –- was observed around the brittle rachis genes, recessive characters which result in grains remaining longer on plants after maturation, allowing efficient harvest of cultivated compared to wild barley. Jordan and southern Syria, compared to the north of Syria, was supported by SNP data as a more likely origin of domesticated barley, suggesting limited locations for the original development of the cultivated crop. Such studies, which exploit novel and rapidly developing genotyping methods, provide great scope for also exploring the evolution of other crops of both historical and current importance, especially when combined with matched geographic sampling of wild and cultivated material.
Brainfood: Chia, Lentils, Bambara groundnut, Cacao, Amaranths, Rwanda, Cherimoya, Conservation, Drought, Plasticity, Phenology
- Extending the range of an ancient crop, Salvia hispanica L.—a new ω3 source. So we can grow it in the US, natch.
- Characterization of the lentil landrace Santo Stefano di Sessanio from Abruzzo, Italy. In the market, some are not what they claim to be; I’m shocked.
- Genetic diversity in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) as revealed by phenotypic descriptors and DArT marker analysis. They’re pretty diverse, especially in Cameroon/Nigeria, which may be where they were domesticated.
- Genetic diversity and spatial structure in a new distinct Theobroma cacao L. population in Bolivia. They’re different from other cacao populations, and probably indigenous to Bolivia.
- Systematics and taxonomic delimitation of vegetable, grain and weed amaranths: a morphological and biochemical approach. Relationships? It’s complex.
- First and second millennium a.d. agriculture in Rwanda: archaeobotanical finds and radiocarbon dates from seven sites. Earliest pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in the region, but do they really mean AD?
- The use of consecutive micrografting improves micropropagation of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) cultivars. It does, what more can I tell you?
- Social and ecological synergy: Local rulemaking, forest livelihoods, and biodiversity conservation. Big meta-analysis reveals complexity and the importance of participation by “local forest users.”
And here are a trio of rhyming couplets, if you see what I mean:
- The relative importance of drought and other water-related constraints for major food crops in South Asian farming systems. Drought and water constraints are widespread in South Asia. Though they contribute no more than 20-30% of current yield gaps, investment in genetic solutions needs to continue. Alas, there are significant Challenges in breeding for yield increase for drought. Nothing that can’t be overcome, though.
- Rethinking species’ ability to cope with rapid climate change. It’s the plasticity, stupid.
- Meta-analyses suggest strong selection on flowering phenology both in plants in general and in chickpea in particular.
Nibbles: Quinoa, Domestication, Wine, Ants & termites, Pavlovsk
- Crops for the Future picks up on quinoa. No comments allowed there, plenty here. Envy?
- Symposium on Domestication as an evolutionary phenomenon: expanding the synthesis. Usual envy.
- If you were a god, emperor or one of ancient Rome’s nouveau riche, you’d be drinking Falernian—or maybe a fake. Unusual envy.
- Ants and termites are the earthworms of arid areas. Ennui.
- Not much happening yet at VIR/Bioversity Pavlovsk meeting in St Petersburg.
The Guardian explains evolution
Interesting to see this video explaining evolution using the domestication and modern breeding of the banana as an example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vss1VKN2rf8&feature=player_embedded#at=353