- Impact of Geographical Indication schemes on traditional knowledge in changing agricultural landscapes: An empirical analysis from Japan. GI encouraged sharing of traditional knowledge.
- Genetic diversity in British populations of Taxus baccata L.: Is the seedbank collection representative of the genetic variation in the wild? Yes, though marginal populations could be collected more.
- The miracle mix of Moringa: Status of Moringa research and development in Malawi. Needs breeding.
- New plant breeding technologies for food security. Genome editing, basically. Meet the new boss…
- Evolutionary agroecology: Trends in root architecture during wheat breeding. In China, wheat breeding has involved unconscious group selection for simpler, less branched, deeper roots in higher-yielding modern varieties.
- Root and shoot variation in relation to potential intermittent drought adaptation of Mesoamerican wild common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Deeper-rooted, and more drought-tolerant, wild beans are found in dry regions.
- Seedling traits predict drought-induced mortality linked to diversity loss. Species with longer seedling roots survive drought better.
- Is ecotourism a panacea? Political ecology perspectives from the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, India. Well, what do you think?
- Genotyping by sequencing can reveal the complex mosaic genomes in gene pools resulting from reticulate evolution: a case study in diploid and polyploid citrus. Citrus evolution in one beautiful diagram. I just wish I could remember the details from one day to the next.
- Population genomic analysis of mango (Mangifera indica) suggests a complex history of domestication. Two genepools, and no bottleneck. No cool diagram though.
- Aboriginal Translocations: The Intentional Propagation and Dispersal of Plants in Aboriginal Australia. More than just replanting tubers after harvest, although plenty of that.
- Comparison of Representative and Custom Methods of Generating Core Subsets of a Carrot Germplasm Collection. It’s a numbers game.
- Potato Breeding by Many Hands? Measuring the Germplasm Exchange Based on a Cultivated Potatoes Database. Most use of varieties in breeding is within countries.
Brainfood: Green Revolution, Pear diversity, Spider plant, Mexican maize erosion, Wheat yield, Salty carrots, Salinity tolerance, Diversification, Ancient farmers, Genebank training, Grapevine diversity, Dietary diversity, Wild chickpeas, Hulless barley
- From Green Revolution to Green Evolution: A Critique of the Political Myth of Averted Famine. Did not avert famine, but it was still important.
- Comparative transcriptomic analysis provides insight into the domestication and improvement of pear (P. pyrifolia) fruit. Much diversity was lost during domestication, but some was gained during improvement, though in different parts of the genome.
- Association between vitamin content, plant morphology and geographical origin in a worldwide collection of the orphan crop Gynandropsis gynandra (Cleomaceae). It’s the E and S African stuff you want.
- The abandonment of maize landraces over the last 50 years in Morelos, Mexico: a tracing study using a multi-level perspective. Don’t blame the youth.
- Elucidating the genetic basis of biomass accumulation and radiation use efficiency in spring wheat and its role in yield potential. Landraces and synthetics can be used to increase yield potential.
- Variation for Salinity Tolerance During Seed Germination in Diverse Carrot [Daucus carota (L.)] Germplasm. 4 cultivated accessions from Turkey out of 273 were best, and the wilds were no good, for a change.
- Salt stress under the scalpel – dissecting the genetics of salt tolerance. Need to break it down into its component parts. See above for an example, I guess.
- Ecological-economic trade-offs of Diversified Farming Systems – A review. Need to take the long view.
- Late Pleistocene human genome suggests a local origin for the first farmers of central Anatolia. Until the next one comes along.
- Training in Plant Genetic Resources Management: A Way Forward. I hope so.
- Whole-genome resequencing of 472 Vitis accessions for grapevine diversity and demographic history analyses. “The network of the domesticated grapevine cultivars is an indication of a highly complicated breeding history of European domesticated grapevines that started thousands of years ago.”
- The Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women of Reproductive Age (MDD-W) Indicator Is Related to Household Food Insecurity and Farm Production Diversity: Evidence from Rural Mali. Women from food insecure households less likely to reach MDD-W.
- Novel sources of resistance to root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus thornei) in a new collection of wild Cicer species (C. reticulatum and C. echinospermum) to improve resistance in cultivated chickpea C. arietinum. Goon news for hummus.
- Determining factors for the diversity of hulless barley agroecosystem in the Himalaya region — A case study from Northwest Yunnan, China. Religion helps.
Nibbles: Grape breeding, Vanilla breeding, DSI policy, ITPGRFA, Maori taro, Dhofar memories
- Marker-assisted breeding in grapes: like skimming through a book looking for key words.
- Vanilla genome: going from no-frills vehicle to luxury sportscar.
- CGN on what to do to ensure continued access to that book — or car.
- A topic which is all the rage right now in the ITPGRFA, on which this is a one-page primer.
- 14th century Māori grew taro as well as sweet potato.
- Great infographics on the fascinating region of Dhofar in southern Oman, in which I collected germplasm many years ago. Great opportunity to reminisce.
Brainfood: Agrobiodiversity drivers, Wild bean adaptation, Berseem breeding, Millet mutants, IK conservation, NUS, Vertebrate threats, Ethiopian nutrition, Maize landraces, Maize phenotyping, Musa chemotypes, Ancient farmers, Vavilov’s steps, Bean diversity, Wild wheat
- Agricultural Biodiversity Maintenance in a Coastal Socio-Ecological System: the Pearl Lagoon Basin, Nicaragua. Roads are not always bad for agrobiodiversity.
- Signatures of Environmental Adaptation During Range Expansion of Wild Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Candidate genes for increased water use efficiency identified.
- Genetic Improvement of Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) in India: Current Status and Prospects. Including using wild relatives, which was surprising to me.
- Generation and characterization of a foxtail millet (Setaria italica) mutant library. Who needs landraces.
- Storing and sharing: A review of indigenous and local knowledge conservation initiatives. Ex situ predominates, and local custodians are often excluded. Where have I heard this before?
- Prospects of orphan crops in climate change. They’re great. But didn’t we already know this?
- Energy and nutrient production in Ethiopia, 2011-2015: Implications to supporting healthy diets and food systems. I guess maybe we didn’t know it. Production has increased, but at the expense of diversity, and nutrient deficits remain.
- Hotspots of human impact on threatened terrestrial vertebrates. 1200 species impacted by threats over >90% of their range. I wonder how many livestock wild relatives.
- Testcross performance of doubled haploid lines from European flint maize landraces is promising for broadening the genetic base of elite germplasm. “Idle genetic diversity from gene banks” gets busy.
- High-throughput method for ear phenotyping and kernel weight estimation in maize using ear digital imaging. Apply to above?
- Genetic analysis of Okra Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus disease resistance in wild relative of okra Abelmoschus angulosus Wall. ex Wight & Arn.Smacks of desperation.
- Metabolite profiling characterises chemotypes of Musa diploids and triploids at juvenile and pre-flowering growth stages. Unsurprisingly follows the genetics.
- Late Pleistocene human genome suggests a local origin for the first farmers of central Anatolia. Not much migration after all.
- Following Vavilov’s expeditions, Sardinia (Italy). Lots of changes in 90 years. There’s a shocker.
- Analyses of African common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) germplasm using a SNP fingerprinting platform: diversity, quality control and molecular breeding. Lots of naming inconsistencies among breeding materials. Another shocker.
- Potential of Aegilops sp. for Improvement of Grain Processing and Nutritional Quality in Wheat (Triticum aestivum). Not just Fe and Zn.
Brainfood: Pig diversity, Mutant peanut, Coffee sustainability, PVP, Agricultural conversion double, Citrus phytosanitary, Vanilla genome, Veggie evaluation, Indian TR4, Wtk1, Dietary diversity, Canola origins, Ecuadorian quinoa, Alfalfa evaluation, Underused yam
- Assessing Sus scrofa diversity among continental United States, and Pacific islands populations using molecular markers from a gene banks collection. The feral pigs of the Pacific may be a nuisance, but they represent an interesting genetic melange.
- Identification of a mutant from Arachis veigae with enhanced seed oleic and very long-chain fatty acid content. Gotta love crop wild relatives.
- Coffee Farmers’ Motivations to Comply with Sustainability Standards. Show them the money.
- The Globalisation of Plant Variety Protection: Are Developing Countries Still Policy Takers? Depends on how you look at it.
- Grass to grain: Probabilistic modeling of agricultural conversion in the North American Great Plains. It’s still happening.
- Spatial priorities for agricultural development in the Brazilian Cerrado: may economy and conservation coexist? See above.
- Phytosanitary management of Citrus germplasm in France. Better safe than sorry.
- Genomics-based diversity analysis of Vanilla species using a Vanilla planifolia draft genome and Genotyping-By-Sequencing. And just like that, there’s a new germplasm collection on the block. And it’s all genotyped.
- Sources of Resistance for Two-spotted Spider Mite (Tetranychus urticae) in Scarlet (Solanum aethiopicum L.) and Gboma (S. macrocarpon L.) Eggplant Germplasms. They have glandular trichomes.
- First detection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (TR4) on Cavendish banana in India. Be afraid.
- Wheat tandem kinases provide insights on disease‐resistance gene flow and host–parasite co‐evolution. The allele for resistance was left behind during domestication.
- Systematic review of use and interpretation of dietary diversity indicators in nutrition-sensitive agriculture literature. Needs more standardization.
- Whole-genome resequencing reveals Brassica napus origin and genetic loci involved in its improvement. Hybrid of the ancestor of European turnip and the common ancestor of kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, and Chinese kale.
- Molecular characterization of Ecuadorian quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) diversity: implications for conservation and breeding. 3 groups, but no geographic structure.
- Resilience, Stability, and Productivity of Alfalfa Cultivars in Rainfed Regions of North America. Difficult for a cultivar to be all three.
- Dioscorea dumetorum (Kunth) Pax, a neglected and underutilized yam species in Benin: folk classification and post-harvest conservation. Needs work before it’s too late.