- 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.
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.
Brainfood: Hari, Gian Tommasso, Cold sorghum, Introgression, Spanish olives, Soybean minerals, Lentil minerals, Durum wheat stress, Livestock guard dogs diversity, Horse diversity, Agricultural landscapes
- Hari Deo Upadhyaya: Plant Breeder, Geneticist and Genetic Resources Specialist. “A prolific writer and with immense passion for teaching, Hari Upadhyaya has established a school of his own for the management, evaluation and use of genetic resources for crop improvement.”
- The Contribution of Professor Gian Tommasso Scarascia Mugnozza to the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity. “It is difficult to fully remember the work of Gian Tommaso Scarascia Mugnozza, a man of charismatic personality, brilliant intelligence, great culture, with an extraordinary capacity of translate his ideas and intuitions into concrete projects”
- Evaluation of sweet sorghum accessions for seedling cold tolerance using both lab and field cold germination test. Try the lab first.
- Does introgression of crop alleles into wild and weedy living populations create cryptic in situ germplasm banks? Yes. Review based on sunflower.
- Variability in Susceptibility to Anthracnose in the World Collection of Olive Cultivars of Cordoba (Spain). About a third of 308 varieties resistant, including the most widely grown, while another widely common one is very susceptible.
- Genomewide association study of ionomic traits on diverse soybean populations from germplasm collections. Didn’t even have to grow them out.
- Bio-fortification potential of global wild annual lentil core collection. This lot were grown out, and Turkey and Syria found to be particularly diverse.
- Genome-wide association analyses identify QTL hotspots for yield and component traits in durum wheat grown under yield potential, drought, and heat stress environments. On chromosomes 2A and 2B.
- Investigating the population structure and genetic differentiation of livestock guard dog breeds. Surprisingly “reasonable” levels of diversity within breeds.
- Genetic monitoring of horses in the Czech Republic: A large-scale study with a focus on the Czech autochthonous breeds. Same for these guys, though breed differentiation was not as good.
- Exploring Agricultural Heritage Landscapes: A Journey Across Terra Incognita. “… a perspective on agricultural landscapes as complex, adaptive biocultural systems has not yet been incorporated into conservation practice.”
Nibbles: ICRISAT sorghum, Citrus phylogeny, Mobiles, Medicinal genebank, Agroforestry benefits
- Unusual story linking the adoption of new varieties with the possible loss of old ones.
- Unusual story linking climate change with orange juice.
- Unusual story linking mobile phones with debatable development impacts.
- Story on an unusual, new(ish) USDA genebank.
- Not very unusual story about the C sequestration impacts of agroforestry.
Brainfood: Biodiversity trends, Banana viruses, Forest fragmentation, Apple cryo, NPGS, Brazilian goats, Turkish AnGR, Using agrobiodiversity, Genetic variation, Leaf rust loci, Leaf Doctor, Colombian cassava
- Is local biodiversity declining or not? A summary of the debate over analysis of species richness time trends. Better data needed.
- How endogenous plant pararetroviruses shed light on Musa evolution. Some banana plants have B genomes which are non-infective for potentially nasty viral integrants, making them good parents in breeding programmes.
- Late Holocene forest contraction and fragmentation in central Africa. From one horse’s mouth: “…this fragmentation 2500 years ago allowed the migration of the Bantu through the forests, who were able to exploit pioneering trees, such as energy rich oil palms which had colonized the gaps created, as well as being able to cultivate for the first times cereals in this newly created agricultural zone, notably pearl millet.”
- Cryobiotechnology of apple (Malus spp.): development, progress and future prospects. “…one of the most extensively studied plant genera with respect to cryopreservation.”
- Sustaining the Future of Plant Breeding: The Critical Role of the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System. The next level: gap filling, more phenotyping and genotyping, better info systems, more pre-breeding, improved training for using PGR in breeding programs, expanded outreach. Could say the same about the rest of the world too.
- Role of Viral Diagnostics in Quarantine for Plant Genetic Resources and Preparedness. Calls for India to put in place a “National Plant Pests Diagnostic and Certification Network.” Maybe should be added to above.
- Threatened Goat Breeds from the Tropics: The Impact of Crossbreeding with Foreign Goats. You need to be careful with it, Brazilians say.
- Importance of native animal genetic resources. Turks too.
- Editorial: Harvesting plant and microbial biodiversity for sustainably enhanced food security. A whole Research Topic, no less. No animals though…
- Genotypic variability enhances the reproducibility of an ecological study. Because it buffers the effects of “environmental” differences in laboratory studies.
- Unlocking new alleles for leaf rust resistance in the Vavilov wheat collection. 13 new loci, maybe.
- Leaf Doctor: A New Portable Application for Quantifying Plant Disease Severity. Something to test the above with.
- Household Determinants of the Adoption of Improved Cassava Varieties using DNA Fingerprinting to Identify Varieties in Farmer Fields: A Case Study in Colombia. 434 samples from 217 farmers reveals 120 varieties, 9 of which were improved; farmers overestimate their use of new varieties, but in general those with more dependents, more land, and more access to extension have more improved varieties.