Genetic diversity

March 23, 2018

Participatory crop improvement position in Nepal

Based in a Bioversity’s office in Nepal, the incumbent will work with partners and stakeholders at the global, national and local levels in implementing Bioversity’s strategy and research agenda in crop genetic diversity and participatory crop improvement.

Interested? Yeah I thought you might be.

March 19, 2018March 24, 2018

Brainfood: Tunisian carrots, Benin & CC, Tree variation, Grape phenotyping, Small ruminant domestication, Rio herbarium, Barley domestication, Millet groupings, Greek cheese

Genotyping-by-sequencing reveals the origin of the Tunisian relatives of cultivated carrot (Daucus carota). D. carota subsp. gummifer is different.
Impacts of climate change on cropping patterns in a tropical, sub-humid watershed. Recent advances in both rainfed and irrigated cropping in central Benin will be undone. Genetics to the rescue?
Is local trait variation related to total range size of tropical trees? No.
High-Precision Phenotyping of Grape Bunch Architecture Using Fast 3D Sensor and Automation. Next, put it on a drone.
Convergent genomic signatures of domestication in sheep and goats. Same genes, different selection pressures.
Herbarium collection of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (RB), Brazil. Any crops wild relatives? Pretty sure there must be.
Targeted resequencing reveals genomic signatures of barley domestication. Distinct ancestor populations at eastern and western ends of the Fertile Crescent implicated in domestication.
Towards Defining Heterotic Gene Pools in Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.]. Hybrid pearl millet is just around the corner.
Biodiversity and microbial resistance of lactobacilli isolated from the traditional Greek cheese kopanisti. Impressive biodiversity, alarming resistance.

March 12, 2018March 9, 2018

Brainfood: Core collections, Food system sustainability, Sunflower breeding, Modern/traditional mosaic, Nepal earthquake response, Modelling erosion, Folate in potato, Argentinian andigena, Millet evaluation, Pigeonpea evaluation, Sugarcane evaluation, Bean drought genes, Threatened trees

An informational view of accession rarity and allele specificity in germplasm banks for management and conservation. Basically a better way of making cores.
Multi-indicator sustainability assessment of global food systems. Thankfully includes both “Shannon Diversity of Food Supply” and “Food Production Diversity”. No sign of the Agrobiodiversity Index, though, alas.
Cytoplasmic Diversity Studies in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): A Review. Have the wild relatives to thank for it.
Mosaic of Traditional and Modern Agriculture Systems for Enhancing Resilience. Refers specifically to rice irrigation systems, but could be generalizable, why not?
Post-disaster agricultural transitions in Nepal. To cardamon, mainly.
Simulating the Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Crop Varietal Diversity in Mali (West-Africa) Using Agent-Based Modeling Approach. Less favourable and unstable climatic conditions lead to loss of diversity.
Genetic Diversity in Argentine Andean Potatoes by Means of Functional Markers. There’s a small group of weird, interesting ones.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with high folate content in wild potato species. Ten-fold variation in content in in F2 population derived from cross between high folate diploid clone of wild Solanum boliviense and low/medium folate diploid S. tuberosum. Nice.
Identification of new sources of resistance for pearl millet downy mildew disease under field conditions. 20 really good ones out of 101. Could have been worse.
Assay of Genetic Architecture for Identification of Waterlogging Tolerant Pigeonpea Germplasm. 38 out of 128 survived. People are lucky this week.
Phenotypic evaluation of a diversity panel selected from the world collection of sugarcane (Saccharum spp) and related grasses. Out of 300, 27 were higher than commercial standards in dry or fresh mass. On a roll here.
Genotyping by Sequencing and Genome–Environment Associations in Wild Common Bean Predict Widespread Divergent Adaptation to Drought. Two genes identified. Let’s quit while we’re ahead. No, come on, let’s do another one.
Tree genetic resources at risk in South America: A spatial threat assessment to prioritize populations for conservation. 7 of 80 socieconomically important trees threatened across their range. Damn.

February 26, 2018February 21, 2018

Brainfood: Red List, Dormancy variation, Conservation priorities, Intensification, Buckwheat book, Wild barley, Sugarcane diversity, Pollinator diversity, Red Listing, Oily camellia

The Value of the IUCN Red List for Business Decision-Making. It’s actually a two-way street.
Phylogeny and source climate impact seed dormancy and germination of restoration-relevant forb species. Significant variation among population for 7 out of 8 species tested.
An integrated framework to identify wildlife populations under threat from climate change. Brings together exposure to change, sensitivity to change and range shift potential to prioritize among 10 bat populations. Maybe more widely applicable.
Winners and losers of national and global efforts to reconcile agricultural intensification and biodiversity conservation. Agricultural intensification leads to significant threats to vertebrate diversity, most of which can however be avoided by international cooperation; that being unlikely, national level optimization in 10 countries is next best.
Buckwheat Germplasm in the World. Its time will surely come.
Geographical and environmental determinants of the genetic structure of wild barley in southeastern Anatolia. More diverse, and different from the domesticate, with distinct W and E groups, and 4 loci possibly responsible for abiotic adaptation.
Pedigree, marker recruitment, and genetic diversity of modern sugarcane cultivars in China and the United States. Not much diversity, especially in China.
Species turnover promotes the importance of bee diversity for crop pollination at regional scales. Pollinator diversity is even more important than we thought.
Comparing and contrasting threat assessments of plant species at the global and sub-global level. Most of the almost 90,000 assessments come from regional efforts, not global.
Determination of Camellia oleifera Abel. Germplasm Resources of Genetic Diversity in China using ISSR Markers. Hunan is the place for diversity of this woody oil crop I never heard of.

February 19, 2018February 8, 2018

Brainfood: Lupinus diversity, African veggies, School food, Citrus collusion, Taro seeds, Hot seeds, Hunter-gatherers, Citrus phylogeny, Sheep management, Genebanks -> farmers

Exploring the genetic and adaptive diversity of a pan-Mediterranean crop wild relative: narrow-leafed lupin. W-E migration.
From lesser-known to super vegetables: the growing profile of African traditional leafy vegetables in promoting food security and wellness. I’m sold.
Home-grown school feeding: promoting local production systems diversification through nutrition sensitive agriculture. Any traditional leafy greens, though?
Citrus genebank collections: international collaboration opportunities between the US and Russia. Very complementary.
Adapting clonally propagated crops to climatic changes: a global approach for taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott). The need for seed.
High-temperature drying of seeds of wild Oryza species intended for long-term storage. The need for drying seeds at 45°C.
Productivity, biodiversity, and pathogens influence the global hunter-gatherer population density. Come the zombie apocalypse, head for subtropical and temperate forest biomes.
Genomics of the origin and evolution of Citrus. It all started when the SE foothills of the Himalayas got a bit dryer in the Miocene… But there’s only one genus (well, plus Poncirus), with 10 species. Oh and pummelos are really important.
Sheep herding systems and animal genetic resource management in the Central Plateau region of Burkina Faso. The best strategy overall would be for rural breeders to specialize in maintaining purebreds and urban breeders, closer to markets, fattened F1 crossbreds. But that’s easier said than done.
Access to genes: linkages between genebanks and farmers’ seed systems. You can do it in half a dozen different ways, but there are challenges with scale, sustainability and legal frameworks.