- Germplasm Acquisition and Distribution by CGIAR Genebanks. A lot of stuff going in, a lot of stuff coming out, to everyone’s benefit. 35 years of data, with special focus on the last 10.
- Intraspecific diversity as a reservoir for heat-stress tolerance in sweet potato. 132 out of 1973 accessions tolerant of heat, though in different ways. A prime example of the above benefits.
- Identification and characterization of high‐yielding, short‐duration rice genotypes for tropical Asia. Short-duration varieties will need to be a bit taller and leafier to yield more. Another example of the above benefits.
- Modelled distributions and conservation priorities of wild sorghums (Sorghum Moench). More stuff needs to go into the above genebanks, though, for example from N. Australia.
- Ex situ and in situ conservation gap analysis of crop wild relative diversity in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East. Same from the Fertile Crescent.
- In situ and ex situ conservation gap analyses of crop wild relatives from Malawi. And not just the above genebanks either.
- The Potential of Payment for Ecosystem Services for Crop Wild Relative Conservation. Ok, we have the gaps (see above), and now here we have the method. What’s stopping us?
- Assessing under-Estimation of Genetic Diversity within Wild Potato (Solanum) Species Populations. Wild diploid species more diverse than previously thought. So providing more ecosystem services?
- Genetic diversity and differentiation of Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata (Wall. & G.Don) Cif. in the Hajar Mountains of Oman. No word on the ecosystem services being provided.
- The investigation of minor and rare Tunisian olive cultivars to enrich and diversify the olive genetic resources of the country. Rare + minor doesn’t mean bad. But maybe an influx of Omani genes would help?
- Biobanking of vegetable genetic resources by in vitro conservation and cryopreservation. Yes, even for vegetables.
- From landrace to modern hybrid broccoli: the genomic and morphological domestication syndrome within a diverse B. oleracea collection. Four subpopulations: Calabrese broccoli landraces, hybrids, sprouting broccoli, and violet cauliflower. Diversity in modern varieties decreasing with time.
- Crop switching reduces agricultural losses from climate change in the United States by half under RCP 8.5. But it will have to be a lot of switching. Hopefully out of broccoli.
- The mosaic genome of indigenous African cattle as a unique genetic resource for African pastoralism. An influx of zebu genes about a thousand years ago is responsible for the success of African pastoralism.
- Protection of traditional agricultural knowledge and rethinking agricultural research from farmers’ perspective: A case from Turkey. Against power imbalances the gods themselves contend in vain.
Nibbles: Crop loss, Soil data, CONABIO stuff, Digging dope, Ceres2030
- There’s a series of interactive workshops to gather feedback on how to measure the Global Burden of Crop Loss. I want an initiative on the Global Burden of Crop Diversity Loss though.
- Soil data makes its way to Google Maps.
- CONABIO has some really excellent agrobiodiversity posters and other resources. Calabazas and amaranth are just the start, so dig away on these orphan crops and others.
- Speaking of digging, ancient people got high. Well there’s a shocker.
- Speaking of shockers: huge literature review says researchers should get to grips with smallholders.
Nibbles: Seeds podcast, Arctic melons, Microbiome, Apple breeding, Whiteness
- Podcast on Vavilov’s genebank.
- What Vavilov’s genebank is up to at the moment with its melons.
- Meanwhile, UK sets up a Crop Microbiome Cryobank.
- How to breed apples.
- Here’s how you can check if all of the above are free of the taint of white supremacy.
Nibbles: Insurance edition
- Biodiversity is insurance, says insurance company.
- Especially biodiversity of fruits and vegetables.
- Research by CGIAR into how best to use that insurance generates a 10:1 return on investment. Kind of. Covers breeding et al., but not genebanks. Sigh.
- Professor Claire Kremen is awarded the Volvo Environment Prize 2020 for research on how to protect that insurance while feeding the world.
- People have been fiddling with that insurance for longer than we thought, archeologists say.
Brainfood: Sorghum lodging, GR wheat, Wild potato core, Wild tomato structure, Protected areas, Biodiversity agreements, Malt archaeology, Hittite archeology, Seed traders, Peasant networks, Seed storage, Mesoamerican crop origins, Intensification, Cattle breeds, Pig domestication, Rice barcodes, Potato history, Rice spread
- Large-scale genome-wide association study reveals that drought-induced lodging in grain sorghum is associated with plant height and traits linked to carbon remobilisation. To reduce lodging, better to select for stay-green (delayed leaf senescence) than for short stature and lodging resistance per se. Here’s a Twitter thread by one of the authors summarizing the findings.
- Green revolution ‘stumbles’ in a dry environment: Dwarf wheat with Rht genes fails to produce higher grain yield than taller plants under drought. At least it doesn’t lodge, though, right?
- A Core Subset of the ex situ Collection of S. demissum at the US Potato Genebank. From 149 to 38, keeping 96% of all marker diversity.
- Migration through a major Andean ecogeographic disruption as a driver of genotypic and phenotypic diversity in a wild tomato species. I guess if you were going to make a core collection for this you could do worse than sample ecogeographically diverse and isolated spots. Tricky to conserve in situ though.
- DNA barcoding of Oryza: conventional, specific, and super barcodes. 6 hypervariable regions in the chloroplast genome can serve as rice-specific DNA barcodes. Assuming you agree on species concepts in the first place.
- A “Global Safety Net” to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth’s climate. The 50% of the Earth to save to save the Earth.
- Three Key considerations for biodiversity conservation in multilateral agreements. Plan, model, assign responsibility.
- Mashes to Mashes, Crust to Crust. Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record. Aleurone cell breakdown in archaeobotanical remains is a robust indicator of beer-making. I bet they find it everywhere now.
- The agroecology of an early state: new results from Hattusha. Huge underground grain silos, with each container holding grain from multiple sites, which could be evidence of tax-paying. But no word on beer.
- Informal Seed Traders: The Backbone of Seed Business and African Smallholder Seed Supply. Lots of room for engagement, and considerable upside. If I were to pick out just one high-potential intervention, it would be providing training in seed testing.
- Restoring cultivated agrobiodiversity: The political ecology of knowledge networks between local peasant seed groups in France. I’m sure they’re testing their seeds.
- A Protective Role for Accumulated Dry Matter Reserves in Seeds During Desiccation: Implications for Conservation. Cells must have >35% dry matter to be able to withstand desiccation.
- Multiple lines of evidence for the origin of domesticated chili pepper, Capsicum annuum, in Mexico. It looks like we — inexplicably — missed this the first time around. Chilli, maize and beans originated in different parts of Mexico.
- Ecological intensification and diversification approaches to maintain biodiversity, ecosystem services and food production in a changing world. Though you can change one thing at a time, it’s better to redesign the whole system. But is the better the enemy of the good?
- Refining the genetic structure and relationships of European cattle breeds through meta-analysis of worldwide genomic SNP data, focusing on Italian cattle. 2 groups among Italian breeds: North-Central breeds linked to Alpine and Iberian breeds, and Podolian-Sicilian breeds with links to the Balkans.
- The Archaeology of Pig Domestication in Eurasia. Independent domestication in northern Mesopotamia by 7500 BC (extensive management) and China by 6000 BC (maybe intensive); failed to take off in Japan, for interesting reasons.
- Vegetative States: Potatoes, Affordances, and Survival Ecologies. The potato has both helped to underpin and resist state coercion. The Hittites would have worked something out, though, I feel.
- Holocene coastal evolution preceded the expansion of paddy field rice farming. Rice only moved south from the lower Yangtze 2-3000 years ago, once costal land opened up. No word on affordances.