- Some prominent Indian seed savers. With video goodness.
- CIMMYT builds teosinte greenhouse. No video yet, but I’m sure we’ll get one eventually.
- Modern wheats keep you regular.
- You too can live the Paleolithic life. Regularity not discussed.
- But you won’t need to, because yes we can build an inclusive food system. It says here.
- And no doubt it will include carrots. Lots of carrots. Yes, it was International Carrot Day.
Brainfood: Bushmeat, Mixed livestock, Zoos, NUS, GS, Vavilovia, Ribes, Phenotypes, Silkworms, Yam propagation
- Eating Bushmeat Improves Food Security in a Biodiversity and Infectious Disease “Hotspot”. What could possibly go wrong.
- Potential of multi-species livestock farming to improve the sustainability of livestock farms: A review. Depends on management, in particular stocking rate.
- Genotyping on the ark: A synthesis of genetic resources available for species in zoos. Use genomics to improve conservation.
- Dairy cows: in the age of the genotype, #phenotypeisking. “If I were a dairy or beef farmer, I would genotype all my animals and farm phenotypes for sale.”
- Enhancing African orphan crops with genomics. Use genomics to improve use.
- Strategies for Effective Use of Genomic Information in Crop Breeding Programs Serving Africa and South Asia. Use genomic selection to use genomics to improve use.
- The Vavilov Institute’s (VIR) contribution to the survey and study of Vavilovia formosa (Fabaceae). More seeds needed.
- ‘Gabreta’ saved from the ruins of oblivion. That’s a forgotten red currant from the Sudetenland.
- Genetic and genomic analysis for cocoon yield traits in silkworm. Even the wild species could contribute to higher yields.
- Propagation of lusala (Dioscorea hirtiflora), a wild yam, for in situ and ex situ conservation and potential domestication. Lots of options.
Brainfood: Bull, Durum, W2Px2, Urban hort, Maya ag, Nepal PGR, Bean GWAS, Pig landrace, DSI
- Reconstitution and modernization of lost Holstein male lineages using samples from a gene bank. Because all today’s bulls tracing back to exactly 2 born in the late 1880s is really not a very good thing.
- Comparative population genomic analyses of the reconstructed local breed “Nero di Parma” with other commercial and autochthonous Italian pig breeds. I like the idea of reconstructing a breed, but this one needs some more work or it will end up as the above.
- Durum wheat in the Mediterranean Rim: historical evolution and genetic resources. What have the Romans ever done for us? Well…
- Drinking biodiversity: a choice experiment on Franciacorta sparkling wines. Willingness to pay for biodiversity friendliness of high value products has its limits.
- Benefits of conserving agricultural genetic resources in Finland: Summary of the recent Finnish research and setting it in the international context. Still, there is some willingness to pay.
- The hidden potential of urban horticulture. Yes, even in Sheffield.
- Maize Politics and Maya Farmers’ Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Yucatán, 1450–1600. The sustainability of milpa depends on politics. ‘Twas ever thus.
- Genomics-assisted breeding for pigeonpea improvement. How do you know when you have enough genomics data?
- Agrobiodiversity and its Conservation in Nepal. 25,000 accessions around the world. But are they enough?
- Genetic Associations in Four Decades of Multi-environment Trials Reveal Agronomic Trait Evolution in Common Bean. 2 large genomic regions have been ruthlessly selected in relentless pursuit of the ideotype. Doesn’t sound like enough.
- Implications of biological information digitization: Access and benefit sharing of plant genetic resources. “The solution lies in an international institution stepping forward, with a bold vision and strong mandate, capable of resolution.” Good luck with that.
Nibbles: Home brewing, Pathology, Sharing vs sparing, Chilling, Cognac, Flower breeding, Algerian sheep, COVID-19, Data
- Going hyper-local with your brewing yeast.
- Protecting sweet potato the Colombian way.
- Land sharing is good for you. The paper is in a Brainfood, see if you can find it…
- Fooling trees into chilling. Until the breeders do their stuff anyway.
- Maybe they’re all working on Ugni blanc.
- A rose is a rose is a mutant.
- Sheep combat. You heard me.
- COVID-19 and food security: no need for panic yet.
- But if you’re stuck at home, these online museum tours might come in useful. And remember you can do the same with genebanks.
Brainfood: Squash diversity, Cryo, Wild wheat, Maize evolution, Yak genome, Flagships, Nutrient production, Bhutanese quinoa, USDA Sweetpotato, European GIAHS, Pulses, Apulian onions
- Phylogeographic and population genetic analyses of Cucurbita moschata reveal divergence of two mitochondrial lineages linked to an elevational gradient. And nuclear genes show there’s a distinct population in Yucatan.
- Advances in cryopreservation of in vitro-derived propagules: technologies and explant sources. Beyond shoot tips.
- Characterization of two leaf rust-resistant Aegilops tauschii accessions for the synthetic wheat development. Hyper-resistant, no less.
- The Genomic Basis for Short-Term Evolution of Environmental Adaptation in Maize. Adaptation of the phenology of tropical types to temperate conditions can happen quickly. So bring in those exotics, they’ll cope soon enough.
- The sequence and de novo assembly of the wild yak genome. Let the intensive yak production systems proliferate.
- Conservation prioritization can resolve the flagship species conundrum. Focusing on 500-odd charismatic mammals, birds and reptiles can account for 80-90% of the species that can be covered in an optimization not constrained by such flagships. But how many CWR? Or, looking at it from the other side, what if CWR were the flagships? Yeah, right, right?
- Spatiotemporal trends in adequacy of dietary nutrient production and food sources. Global production can provide everyone with all nutrients except vitamin A, but 120 countries are not self-sufficient. Another way we’re all interdependent. But at least we have trade. Right?
- First adaptation of quinoa in the Bhutanese mountain agriculture systems. Someone mention interdependence?
- Phenotypic Variation in Leaf Morphology of the USDA, ARS Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) Germplasm Collection. Everything is Normal.
- Characterization of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in Europe. They’re ok but there could be more.
- Evaluation of pulse crops’ functional diversity supporting food production. Three groups of pulses: producers (biomass and seeds), competitors (against weeds) and fixers (N).
- Assessment of Genetic Diversity of the “Acquaviva Red Onion” (Allium cepa L.) Apulian Landrace. It’s a well-defined variety that is noticeably sweeter than others.