- Molecular markers as a tool for germplasm acquisition to enhance the genetic diversity of a Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus syn. Pennisetum purpureum) collection. Win-win for the ILRI and Embrapa genebanks.
- Women’s empowerment in agriculture and agricultural productivity: Evidence from rural maize farmer households in western Kenya. 1% increase in women’s empowerment led to a 6-16% increase in maize yields, depending on fanciness of math.
- A transcriptome screen for positive selection in domesticated breadfruit and its wild relatives (Artocarpus spp.). Evidence of selection in 1000 genes.
- A selfish genetic element confers non-Mendelian inheritance in rice. Pollen toxin-antidote genetic system controls hybrid sterility in wild-cultivated crosses.
- Between China and South Asia: A Middle Asian corridor of crop dispersal and agricultural innovation in the Bronze Age. It’s not all demic diffusion.
- Determinants of crop diversification in rice-dominated Sri Lankan agricultural systems. Not everyone can diversify.
- Improving food-system efficiency and environmental conservation using agricultural biodiversity in Busia County: a pilot study. Giving farmers nutritional data increased their cultivation of traditional vegetables, and their income.
- The impacts of farmers’ livelihood endowments on their participation in eco-compensation policies: Globally important agricultural heritage systems case studies from China. Giving farmers money increased their income.
- Conservation of wild silkworm genetic resources through cryopreservation: Standardization of sperm processing. It’s best to recover sperm from the bursa copulatrix and spermatheca of the female moth after mating.
- Short-Term Local Adaptation of Historical Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Varieties and Implications for In Situ Management of Bean Diversity. 3 years of multiplication of heritage varieties in contrasting organic farms leads to genetic changes: it takes a network to truly conserve.
Brainfood: Sustainable Brazil, Epigenetic variation, Global conservation, Rice nutrition, Austronesian societies, Saharan domestication, GM wheat, Smallholders, Bos introgression
- Sustainable diet from the urban Brazilian consumer perspective. Healthiness, basically.
- Comparison of the Relative Potential for Epigenetic and Genetic Variation To Contribute to Trait Stability. Genetic >> epigenetic.
- Global mismatch of policy and research on drivers of biodiversity loss. Except for climate change.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels this century will alter the protein, micronutrients, and vitamin content of rice grains with potential health consequences for the poorest rice-dependent countries. And not in a good way. But some variation among varieties = breeding opportunity?
- Coevolution of landesque capital intensive agriculture and sociopolitical hierarchy. Among Austronesian-speaking societies, no evidence that agricultural intensification drives social complexity; if anything, it’s the other way around.
- Plant behaviour from human imprints and the cultivation of wild cereals in Holocene Sahara. Weediness has been good to humans in the past.
- Gene Flow in Genetically Modified Wheat. Would probably only be a problem within fields.
- How much of the world’s food do smallholders produce? FAO: 70%. New paper: 30-34%.
- Pervasive introgression facilitated domestication and adaptation in the Bos species complex. Miscegenation has been rampant.
Nibbles: Konzo double, ANI, ICRISAT genebank, World Potato Congress, Coffee sequence, Food Forever job
- The fascinating story of konzo, nicely told.
- You’ll remember my take on that, of course.
- Speaking of my take, on the release of the Access to Nutrition Index I ask: cui bono genebanks?
- Somebody mention genebanks? Yes, ICRISAT.
- Consider the beauty of the humble potato.
- Nobody ever calls coffee humble.
- Wanna tell the world about any of the above?
Brainfood: Czech genebank value, AnGR value, Korea rice core value, Cannabis value, Red rice diversity, Aquaculture trends, Mexican CWR, Rice male sterility, Evidence base, Siberian cheese
- Estimating the Value of Crop Diversity Conservation Services Provided by the Czech National Programme for Agrobiodiversity. Willingness-to-pay (WTP) amounts to country-wide benefits of $68 million.
- Animal genetic resources diversity and ecosystem services. Traditional breeds make a significant contribution to non-provisioning ecosystem services, but their keepers are often marginalized. Maybe somebody should calculate WTP?
- Genome-wide association study reveals candidate genes related to low temperature tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa) during germination. 100 genes on 2 chromosomes, based on data from the Korean core collection.
- The Role of Agriculture in Supplying Nutritional, Medicinal, and Recreational Cannabis Products. We need a Green Ganja Revolution, man.
- Diversity and population structure of red rice germplasm in Bangladesh. Red rices, actually.
- Comparative terrestrial feed and land use of an aquaculture-dominant world. Farming fish spares more land than farming livestock. And is better for you.
- A Crop Wild Relative Inventory for Mexico. 310 taxa, 30% endemic.
- Genetic analysis of male sterility obtained from a rice cultivar Lebed backcrossed with Taichung 65. You can get it here.
- The major barriers to evidence‐informed conservation policy and possible solutions. Convince the public, and the policy-makers will come.
- Using PacBio sequencing to investigate the bacterial microbiota of traditional Buryatian cottage cheese and comparison with Italian and Kazakhstan artisanal cheeses. Buryatia is a mountainous Russian republic in eastern Siberia, and they make really diverse cheese there, bacterially speaking.
Nibbles: Cloisters, Plum breeding, Wild tomatoes, Phytosanitary regulations, Public breeding, EU regulations, Svalbard @10, Local grains, Chips, ICRAF double
- Medieval monastery gardens deconstructed.
- Burbank’s plums decoded.
- The wild tomatoes of the Galapagos evaluated.
- Germplasm exchange expedited.
- Public sector plant breeding advocated.
- Farmer-saved seeds saved?
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault celebrated.
- Local flour milled.
- Potato chips (crisps) invented.
- Indigenous trees taken seriously. Very seriously.