Genetic diversity

February 21, 2013

Simply awesome vegetable poster

Worth way more than a nibble, which is why it is out here. Run, don’t walk, to Popchartlab’s poster which is:

The most extensive mapping of vegetables ever! We have lovingly illustrated and charted over 400 crops, from Root Vegetables like Potatoes and the Prairie Turnip to lesser-known verified veggies like Courgette Flowers and the Ghostbuster Eggplant to the very many vegetables which are, botanically speaking, actually fruits.

Now, how do we persuade them to go global?

February 18, 2013February 15, 2013

Brainfood: Understanding conservation, Melon diversity, Brassica viruses, Livestock domestication, Parks and conservation, Intensification, Wild apple, Conservation planning, Pepper diversity, Silene diversity, Connectivity in restoration, Paying for conservation, Dog evolution, Pasture productivity

Four barriers to the global understanding of biodiversity conservation: wealth, language, geographical location and security. Probably not a bad list for agricultural biodiversity either.
SNP genotyping in melons: genetic variation, population structure, and linkage disequilibrium. Two main population, 5 sub-populations, no surprises. Oh hum.
Turnip Mosaic Potyvirus Probably First Spread to Eurasian Brassica Crops from Wild Orchids about 1000 Years Ago. Which corresponds to the expansion of agriculture in Europe as a result of a warming phase.
The Prey Pathway: A Regional History of Cattle (Bos taurus) and Pig (Sus scrofa) Domestication in the Northern Jordan Valley, Israel. Domestication in 8th millennium, preceded by overhunting. And all figured out without recourse to DNA.
The Effects of Isolation and Natural Park Coverage for Landrace In situ Conservation: An Approach from the Montseny Mountains (NE Spain). Do farmers in parks conserve landraces because they are isolated, or because they are in parks? Both, it seems.
Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture. Doubling in food demand from 2005 to 2050 predicted. Current trends of intensification in rich countries and expansion in not-so-rich bad, moderate intensification everywhere good.
Postglacial recolonization history of the European crabapple (Malus sylvestris Mill.), a wild contributor to the domesticated apple. Differentiation in 3 separate glacial refugia, then expansion and admixture at boundaries.
Testing Surrogacy Assumptions: Can Threatened and Endangered Plants Be Grouped by Biological Similarity and Abundances? No.
Characterization of Capsicum annuum Genetic Diversity and Population Structure Based on Parallel Polymorphism Discovery with a 30K Unigene Pepper GeneChip. The hot ones are more diverse.
Agronomical use as baby leaf salad of Silene vulgaris based on morphological, biochemical and molecular traits. Some populations are nicer than others.
Patterns of contemporary gene flow suggest low functional connectivity of grasslands in a fragmented agricultural landscape. When restoring a species at a site, it is better if the new population is near a large existing population.
Using choice experiments to understand public demand for the conservation of nature: A case study in a protected area of Chile. Visitors willing to pay $2-9 per visit, depending on the ecosystem service provided, which didn’t alas include CWRs.
Y chromosome analysis of dingoes and Southeast Asian village dogs suggests a Neolithic continental expansion from Southeast Asia followed by multiple Austronesian dispersals. Dogs arose independently in SE Asia and displaced older lineages to the N and W.
More Stable Productivity of Semi Natural Grasslands than Sown Pastures in a Seasonally Dry Climate. Over the course of a year that is, presumably due to species diversity. And the odd tree helps towards the end of the dry season. Which is why ICRAF is all over it.

February 15, 2013February 18, 2013

Wild sunflower speciation talk…and more

Talks from #PAGXXI workshop on speciation genomics now available online https://t.co/C1DTh1yi

— Prof Richard Buggs (@RJABuggs) February 15, 2013

Which is particularly cool for us here because it includes that of Rose Andrew of the Rieseberg Lab at the University of British Columbia on “The Genomic and Geographic Landscapes of Sunflower Speciation: The Transition from Local Adaptation.” More from PAGXXI.

LATER: Plus there’s the whole Genomics of Genebanks thing too.

February 11, 2013February 8, 2013

Brainfood: Cotton hybrids, Lentil drought phenotyping, Wild Prunus, Italian food discourse, Disturbance and diversity, Olive domestication, Rhizobium diversity, Intensification, Niche model uncertainty

Interspecific hybridization in Gossypium L.: characterization of progenies with different ploidy-confirmed multigenomic backgrounds. They can be made, with some difficulty, and could be useful.
A new phenotyping technique for screening for drought tolerance in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.). In hydroponics. Seems to work.
Polyploidy and microsatellite variation in the relict tree Prunus lusitanica L.: how effective are refugia in preserving genotypic diversity of clonal taxa? The island populations are particularly important.
Trade-off or convergence? The role of food security in the evolution of food discourse in Italy. The food crisis had quite an impact.
Diversity loss with persistent human disturbance increases vulnerability to ecosystem collapse. Suppression of fire in a species-rich grassland has resulted in a very low diversity but highly productive vegetation. Unfortunately, when you re-introduce fire, the whole thing collapses.
The complex history of the olive tree: from Late Quaternary diversification of Mediterranean lineages to primary domestication in the northern Levant. Don’t forget the 3 refugia in Middle East, Aegean and Gibraltar. And, coincidentally, more.
Isolation and characterization of salt-tolerant rhizobia native to the desert soils of United Arab Emirates. I hope someone conserves them.
The compatibility of agricultural intensification in a global hotspot of smallholder agrobiodiversity (Bolivia). Peaches for cash didn’t do anything nasty to the diverse maize landraces. Which are in any case conserved ex situ, just to be on the safe side? Right?
Detrital diversity influences estuarine ecosystem performance. Diverse mud makes for healthier seagrasses and mangroves.
Conservation Planning with Uncertain Climate Change Projections. Gotta look at those sensitivities.

February 7, 2013February 7, 2013

Nibbles: Farm size, Evidence-based policy, Priority sites, Tibetan grasslands, Sustainable intensification, Lipid improvement, Medicinal plants, Local fish, Wheat access, Purple yam,

Small is beautiful. No, wait… And more from where that came, ahem, from.
Evidence? We don’t need no stinking evidence.
CIAT blogs about a workshop about a model about prioritization about populations about breeding about beans. While its peach palm thing gets picked up.
Tibetan grasslands feel the heat. Not entirely certain why ICRAF should care, but it’s good to know.
Peaches compatible with maize in Bolivian agrobiodiversity hotspot. Not nearly enough info in this release, will need to chase it up. And here it is.
Rothamstead engineers lipids. But it’s for better nutrition, so that’s ok.
Trad med in RSA.
Fish as an ingredient of complementary foods. Nutritious, I’m sure, but I suspect Crocodile Dundee’s comment on the iguana applies.
US wheat breeders worried about access. Maybe if the country ratified the ITPGRFA?
Filipinos really like purple sweets, apparently. Here are some made of purple yam, ube, Dioscorea alata, call it what you will.