Threats – Page 72 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

December 13, 2019December 13, 2019

Wild millet superstar

A recent paper has identified interesting diversity in the wild pearl millet relative Pennisetum violaceum. Out of 305 accessions, a few were found to have resistance to blast (caused by Magnaporthe grisea) and a few others to rust (caused by Puccinia substriata var. indica). Plants from only one accession were resistant to both diseases: IP 21711 from the ICRISAT genebank. It was originally collected in Chad in 1988. It’s the one in red on the map, which you’ll be able to see better if you click on it.

Sometimes it really is like searching for a needle in a haystack. And that’s only the beginning. Pennisetum violaceum is in the tertiary genepool of the crop, so will be tricky to work with.

December 10, 2019December 6, 2019

Nibbles: Sacred forests, Morning glory, Organic cereals, Sorghum diversity, Phoenix studentship

The church forests of Ethiopia.
Monumental monographic study of Ipomoea.
New project on breeding cereals for organic farming in Europe.
Sorghum genetic resources in the USA.
Fun studentship on date palm diversity.

December 2, 2019December 2, 2019

Brainfood: Cassava diversity, Landrace diversity double, Soybean oil quality, Cucurbit domestication, Carrot colours, Pharaonic emmer, Teosinte RILs, Chinese pigs, Brazilian apples, Teosinte diversity, Forests & diets, Forest productivity, Agricultural productivity

A global overview of cassava genetic diversity. The African germplasm is different from the Latin American, but not by that much.
Genetic variability in landraces populations and the risk to lose genetic variation. The example of landrace ‘Kyperounda’ and its implications for ex situ conservation. Better genetically to conserve landraces as sub-lines. But financially?
Impact of merging commercial breeding lines on the genetic diversity of Landrace pigs. Above goes for pigs too.
Selection and Molecular Characterization of Soybeans with High Oleic Acid from Plant Germplasm of Genebank. 3 accessions have interesting variants in the relevant gene.
Origin and domestication of Cucurbitaceae crops: insights from phylogenies, genomics and archaeology. Lots of different paths to domestication, but all involve loss of flesh bitterness, one way or another.
Changing Carrot Color: Insertions in DcMYB7 Alter the Regulation of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis and Modification. How the carrot lost its purple.
A 3,000-year-old Egyptian emmer wheat genome reveals dispersal and domestication history. Most closely resembles modern material from Turkey, Oman and India.
TeoNAM: A Nested Association Mapping Population for Domestication and Agronomic Trait Analysis in Maize. With added teosinte goodness.
Adaptive phenotypic divergence in an annual grass differs across biotic contexts. The rhizosphere affects adaptation of teosinte along an altitudinal gradient. We’ll need a Nested Association Mapping Population for that too now, no doubt.
Population genetics assessment model reveals priority protection of genetic resources in native pig breeds in China. Most breeds have low diversity; Tibetan pigs are an exception.
A brief history of the forty-five years of the E’AppleBP apple breeding program in Brazil. 27 new varieties seems like pretty good going.
Testing the Various Pathways Linking Forest Cover to Dietary Diversity in Tropical Landscapes. Sometimes there’s a direct pathway (e.g., consumption of forest food), sometimes an income pathway (income from forest products used to purchase food from markets), and sometimes an agroecological pathway (forests and trees sustaining farm production). And sometimes there isn’t.
Evolutionary diversity is associated with wood productivity in Amazonian forests. “…greater phylogenetic diversity translates into higher levels of ecosystem function.” No word on its effect on diets.
Anatomy and resilience of the global production ecosystem. Plenty of words on its effect on diets.

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019

Nibbles: GB8, Aqueduct, Soviet tea, Tilapia virus, Quelites, NUS, Golden Thread, China Neolithic, Organic maize

Virginia Gewin on GB8.
Mapping water risks around the world.
The decline and rise of Georgian tea.
Virus hits tilapia. A lot of people could be hurt.
Amaranthus in Mexico.
Just one of many relatively neglected crops around the world that shouldn’t be.
How wheat took over China. That was kinda underused at first too.
Long webinar on organic maize breeding. Amaranthus next?
The rise of fabric.

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019

Nibbles: International genebanks, Ahmed Amri, Genebank management, Nutrition stories, Spice nomenclature, Breeding against waste, Cuneiform tablets, Breadfruit, Ag risk, Giant pineapple, Chiles in Mexico, Solanum jamesii, Seed Week, Kenyan community seedbank, Lost apples

The CGIAR genebanks in the limelight.
My friend Ahmed Amri is a big reason for the success of the above.
The dual role of genebank managers like Ahmed.
Feel-good nutrition stories needed.
Rosemary gets a name change. Not many people hurt.
Fighting food waste through breeding.
Babylonian cooking deciphered.
Breadfruit (and Diane Ragone) on TV.
Maize looks doomed in Zambia. All hail sorghum.
Food exhibition at the Fitzwilliam.
Chiltepin culture.
The forgotten potato of the Four Corners.
Hey, it’s Seed Week 2019 in the UK and Ireland!
Something similar in Kenya too, thanks to Bioversity and CCAFS.
There’s always an apple detective story around this time of year.