- Genetic Diversity of Cultivated Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) and Its Relation to the World’s Agro-ecological Zones. 352 accessions, 54 countries, 3 agro-ecological groups (South Asia, Mediterranean, N temperate) in USDA collection.
- Association mapping of seed and disease resistance traits in Theobroma cacao L. 6 and 1 markers, respectively, based on 483 unique trees in the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad (ICGT).
- Historic translocations of European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) genetic resources across Europe – A review from the 17th until the mid-20th century. Humans have moved material to areas outside its native distribution, and have mixed up genetically distinct populations in some places.
- Insights into the Genetic Relationships and Breeding Patterns of the African Tea Germplasm (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) Based on nSSR Markers and cpDNA Sequences. African material groups according to where it was bred.
- First the seed, next the smolt? Will salmon farmers learn the right lessons from plant biotechnology? I bet not.
- Geographic patterns of phenotypic diversity in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) landraces from North Eastern Ethiopia. There aren’t any. Patterns, that is.
- Subgenome parallel selection is associated with morphotype diversification and convergent crop domestication in Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea. Similar heading and tuberous morphotypes in the two species are due to parallel selection on genes that diverged after duplication event.
- Assessing the Cost of Global Biodiversity and Conservation Knowledge. Golly, it’s expensive!
- Sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial human footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation. Human footprint hasn’t increased by as much as might be feared, but still extends over 75% of world’s land surface. Let the mashing up with crop wild relatives hotspots begin!
Brainfood: African rice, Soybean resistance, Peruvian cuisine, Aromatic rice, Cowpea diversity, Wild barley diversity, High throughput phenotyping, Cacao core, Niche foods, Tajik wheat breeding
- Domestication history and geographical adaptation inferred from a SNP map of African rice. Evidence of strong selection for salt tolerance over protracted domestication period.
- Genome-Wide Association Study of Resistance to Soybean Cyst Nematode (Heterodera glycines) HG Type 2.5.7 in Wild Soybean (Glycine soja). 43 resistant accessions out of 235.
- Food incursions into global heritage: Peruvian cuisine’s slippery road to UNESCO. How the 1% eat.
- Differentiation and description of aromatic short grain rice landraces of eastern Indian state of Odisha based on qualitative phenotypic descriptors. There’s morphological diversity within aromatic types.
- Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp). 768 cultivated types from 56 countries in the USDA collection fall out into 3 genetic groups, but no obvious geographical structure.
- Geography of Genetic Structure in Barley Wild Relative Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum in Jordan. 3 genetic groups again, and no geographic or climatic structure, again.
- Utilization of a high-throughput shoot imaging system to examine the dynamic phenotypic responses of a C4 cereal crop plant to nitrogen and water deficiency over time. Who needs morphological descriptors?
- Establishment of a Core Collection of Traditional Cuban Theobroma cacao Plants for Conservation and Utilization Purposes. 185 out of 537 hardly seems worth it.
- Promotion and Utilization of Niche Foods for Food and Nutrition Security. Termites with your spider plants, madam?
- The History of Wheat Breeding in Tajikistan. Seems, according to the authors, to have been a waste of time.
Nibbles: CATIE genebank, Wine microbiome, Olive history, CGIAR breeding, Yerba mate, Breadfruit, Ambling horses
- It’s been a while since we linked to CATIE’s genebank.
- Boffins take next step in spoiling wine for us all.
- The olive is another thing the Romans have done for us.
- The international germplasm collections are at the root of the CGIAR’s breeding programs.
- Marketing mate.
- Let them eat breadfruit.
- The amble is down to a single medieval mutation.
Brainfood: Drones, Taxonomy, Nigerian diets, Chinese mung bean & millets, Indian chickpea, Polyploidy, Oca seed system, Agroforestry sequestration
- A direct comparison of remote sensing approaches for high-throughput phenotyping in plant breeding. Drones are best.
- Intraspecific taxonomy of plant genetic resources — Important for differentiation of medicinal and aromatic plants? It depends.
- Effects of development on indigenous dietary pattern: A Nigerian case study. Teenagers are rebellious.
- Nutritional composition and antioxidant activity of twenty mung bean cultivars in China. Good news for hipsters everywhere.
- Production and genetic improvement of minor cereals in China. And they’re good for you too. But will the rest of the world benefit from them?
- Characterization of chickpea germplasm conserved in the Indian National Genebank and development of a core set using qualitative and quantitative trait data. 1,103 are representative of 14,651, if you pick them right.
- Whole-genome duplication as a key factor in crop domestication. Comparing within genera, 54% of crops are polyploids on average, versus 40% of the wild species.
- Effect of the management of seed flows and mode of propagation on the genetic diversity in an Andean farming system: the case of oca (Oxalis tuberosa Mol.). Richer farmers conserve and exchange more.
- Global Tree Cover and Biomass Carbon on Agricultural Land: The contribution of agroforestry to global and national carbon budgets. Almost half of agricultural land has a significant number of trees on it, which sequester a lot of C.
Nibbles: Fundament edition
- Badass sheep genomes sequenced.
- FAO assesses drylands.
- Sun shines on enkir again.
- Beans good for anemia. Keep you regular too.
- Jacksy‘s the next breadfruit.
- De-extinction is no back door to conservation.