Information

January 6, 2016January 6, 2016

Yes, we have bananas

banana catalog What better way to start the new year than with an attractive catalog of banana accessions from USDA? Especially as, coincidentally, the Musa Germplasm Information System also debuts a new iteration of the website. This from a Facebook post today:

It is now possible to order ITC accessions from MGIS, an online database on genebank accessions of wild and cultivated bananas. The latest release also added information on 1,288 accessions for a total of 3,630 accessions maintained in 11 field and in vitro collections.

That Mai’a Maoli Eka cultivar in the photo from the USDA catalog of course features in MGIS, so you can order it if you like the look of it…

Ah no, wait. According to GRIN, it’s not available. Bummer.

December 11, 2015December 11, 2015

Nibbles: Roots & tubers, Vegetables, Baobab sorbet, Grapevine breeding, Landscapes, CC & ag

Cassava in the spotlight.
Yeah but don’t forget your veggies.
Plus a tasty baobab dessert.
And of course you’ll need a glass of wine to go with such a nicely balanced meal.
Let’s bring all that together, shall we?
Before it’s too late.

December 10, 2015

DivSeek calling

Do you know of projects genotyping or phenotyping crop germplasm on a massive scale? Well, because the folks at DivSeek are collating that kind of info for a “landscape study.” Leave comments here and I’ll get it to them.

December 7, 2015December 4, 2015

Brainfood: Wild rice database, E Asian wheat diversity, Microbial terroir, Sesame breeding, Agrobiodiversity fairs, AnGR conservation, Rye diversity

OryzaGenome: Genome Diversity Database of Wild Oryza Species. Well, only 2 species thus far, but it’s a start.
Evaluation of East Asian landrace wheat revealed by high molecular weight glutenin and maturity period. The Chinese accessions are different to the Japanese-Korean, and 3 of the former have both good gluten composition and early maturity, making them attractive to Korean breeders.
Sequence-based Analysis of the Vitis vinifera L. cv Cabernet Sauvignon Grape Must Mycobiome in Three South African Vineyards Employing Distinct Agronomic Systems. Even microbes contribute to terroir.
Genetic Diversity, Population Structure, and Association Mapping of 10 Agronomic Traits in Sesame. Some markers will be really useful in breeding.
The fairs of agrobiodiversity in the context of participatory plant breeding — Local Agricultural Innovation Program in Cuba. Meaning and impact. Diversity will find a way.
Biobanking genetic resources: Challenges and implementation at the USDA National Animal Germplasm Program. Everything that’s not cattle and swine is a problem.
Geography and end use drive the diversification of worldwide winter rye populations. There may have been multiple domestications, and improvement has not led to decrease in diversity.

December 3, 2015December 3, 2015

Genebank data everywhere

Those who follow such things will no doubt be as excited as we are about the fact that USDA’s National Plant Germplasm System has just switched over from its old workhorse documentation system, GRIN, to the young pretender, GRIN-Global. ¹ You can access all the passport, characterization and evaluation data USDA has on its 574,764 accessions from the GRIN-Global website. What the user sees on the public interface when searching for and ordering germplasm, though, is only a small part of the picture. All USDA genebank staff around the country are also using the Curator Tool to manage their collections and fulfil order requests. It’s been a massive undertaking. And the software is actually available to all. So if you’re a genebank curator and would like to experiment with the same documentation system that the mighty NPGS uses, check it out.

As it happens, we’ve also just come across a case of a user downloading some GRIN data and serving it up on its own. The good folks at Widespread Malus have extracted all the Malus sieversii data and stuck them in an Excel spreadsheet, to make things even easier for wild apple enthusiasts. Nice idea.