Information

October 19, 2014October 18, 2014

Speaking about Speaking of Food

This special issue, “Speaking of Food: Connecting basic and applied plant science,” aims to provide concrete examples of how a wide range of basic plant science, the types of scientific studies commonly published in AJB, are relevant for the future of food. This Special Issue was inspired by Elizabeth A. Kellogg’s 2012 Presidential Address to the Botanical Society of America, and resulted in part from a symposium and colloquium by the same name that took place at the 2013 Botany meetings in New Orleans, LA. The issue editors are grateful to the Botanical Society of America, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and the Torrey Botanical Society for support of this work.

Special issue of the American Journal of Botany, that is. Alas, only one of the papers, the one on strawberries, is open access, though.

Fig. 1. Approximate geographic distribution of Fragaria species and ploidy. Due to uncertainty over species boundaries, the six endemic Chinese species are designated as diploids (F. chinensis, F. pentaphylla) or tetraploids (F. corymbosa, F. gracilis, F. moupinensis, F. tibetica). Data sources include the GBIF data portal (GBIF, 2014), the “Wild Strawberry” Dimensions of Biodiversity US-China project website (Ashman et al., 2014), published distribution maps (Staudt, 1999a, 1999b, 2003b, 2005, 2006, 2008; Staudt and Dickoré, 2001; Chukhina, 2008; Staudt and Olbricht, 2008; Rousseau-Gueutin et al., 2009), and base map (Shorthouse, 2010).

October 18, 2014

Nibbles: Georgian kitchen garden, Italian citrus history, Domestication infographics, AVRDC, Zambian nutrition policy, Camel-keeping, ESA states its case, Making lunch

Podcast double: Georgian kitchen gardens (with pix) and Italian citrus.
Domestication infographics are now officially a thing.
Feeding the world with vegetable research, courtesy of AVRDC. Need to register, alas.
Zambia biofortifies. Maybe they didn’t register for the above.
Camels as biocultural artifacts.
European Seed Association breaks down the tumultuous last 18 months of the European seed sector.
“It takes more than 40 different species to make a simple lunch…”

October 16, 2014

Nibbles: CIAT genebank, Breeding course, Tomato sequencing, EUFORGEN celebrations, Gates projects, GCP quiz & video, CFS41 ITPGRFA side event

A new genebank for CIAT?
DuPont Pioneer sponsors a plant breeding symposium at Wageningen University. You can attend by webinar but you have to register. But I fear this is going out way too late. Sorry! Nevermind, you’re still in time for this.
360 tomato genomes give an all-round view of its evolution.
EUFORGEN turns 20. Don’t know EUFORGEN? Watch this video. Or go to this side event.
Self-reproducing hybrid cowpea and sorghum? Gates Foundation is on it. Ah, but it’s not all sweetness and light in Seattle.
It’s also a bit late, so don’t expect a prize, but you can still take the GCP World Food Day quiz just for fun.
But for real fun, watch their cassava video.
Oh my! Judge for yourself whether it was worth listening to.

October 14, 2014October 13, 2014

Historical maize information online

The core set of the Races of Maize volumes were a result of investigations by Maize Geneticists and were published by the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences between 1952 and 1963. The set represents a unique source of information, which characterizes and describes the races of maize and their respective geographic origins. These volumes have been out of print and unavailable to researchers for decades. The Maize Crop Germplasm Committee (CGC) recognized the importance of the availability of this scientific literature and recommended that they be electronically reproduced and distributed via the National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

And a great idea that is too. I was given a nice CD-ROM by Dr Candy Gardener of the USDA genebank in Ames, Iowa. But you can also access the PDFs online. It’s a real treasure-trove. Happy browsing!

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October 13, 2014October 13, 2014

Brainfood: Biogeoinformatics, FGR review, Lesser pulses, Slovak orchards, Wheat evaluation network, Iranian olives, Beans & FIGS, Blasted rice, Tibetan pigs, Alpine grass, Development as freedom

Biogeoinformatics of livestock genomic resources. Don’t forget the “geo” bit. Goes for plants as well!
Utilization and transfer of forest genetic resources: A global review. They’ve been going on for 200 years, but we’ll need provenance trials and conventional breeding more than ever in the future. Phytosanitary risks involved in tree germplasm movement are now better managed, but the big problem in the future will be Nagoya. Molecular assisted breeding? Meh.
Genomics and molecular breeding in lesser explored pulse crops: Current trends and future opportunities. We’re mostly still awaiting our jetpacks.
Orchards as traces of traditional agricultural landscape in Slovakia. About half are left, but they won’t save themselves.
A wheat phenotyping network to incorporate physiological traits for climate change in South Asia. Local checks significantly earlier than the best CIMMYT can offer. Evaluate the whole genebank?
Genetic structure of Iranian olive cultivars and their relationship with Mediterranean’s cultivars revealed by SSR markers. The N Iran cultivars are different from everything else.
Leaf traits associated with drought adaptation in faba bean (Vicia faba L.). Chalk up another success for FIGS.
Large scale germplasm screening for identification of novel rice blast resistance sources. 289 out of 4246 accessions showed resistance against all five rice blast isolates. The 4246 chosen on basis of “annotated rice blast resistance information” from the IRRI genebank. No word on whether FIGS was considered.
Genetic Variation of EPAS1 Gene in Tibetan Pigs and Three Low-Altitude Pig Breeds in China. One haplotype seems to be particularly associated with high altitude adaptation. Unclear if that is a really important objective of pig breeding around the world.
Morpho-physiological variation of Poa alpina L. genetic resources from the Rhaetian Alps, Italy, grown in two altitude-contrasting sites. There was more variation within than among populations, and it’s ok to do seed production for high altitude sites at low altitudes. No word on whether same could be said for alpine pigs.
Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Origin Products in Developing Countries: Matching Human Rights and IP Protection with Business Development Opportunities. It’s all in the value chain.