You thought Lubbock, Texas was only famous as the birthplace of Buddy Holly? Think again. It’s a veritable hothouse of cotton genetic resources conservation and use. Not much of what you might call news in the Eurekalert piece, but interesting nonetheless. For example, did you know that there are three international cotton germplasm collections, in Lubbock, France and Uzbekistan? Or that breeders are scouring wild cottons for the genes to make the crop more environmentally friendly?
Archaeology of food
Speaking of conferences, there’s another one that’s worth keeping an eye on, which I learned about via Eurekalert. It’s called Food and Drink in Archaeology 2007 and will feature a keynote address by Professor Martin Jones of the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge entitled “Feast: Why Humans Share Food.”
Why is this relevant to us here at the Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog? Well…
Whilst the importance of nutrition for survival has long been recognised, recent studies have increasingly stressed the cultural significance of the production, distribution and consumption of foodstuffs through out all archaeological periods. An understanding of diet in past societies is therefore crucial to an understanding of daily life, and the relationships between different classes and societies throughout the world.
Orange bananas
Over at Bioversity International’s news pages there’s an interview with West African scientists who are trying to develop orange-fleshed bananas to tackle vitamin A deficiency.
LATER: The Bioversity link has disappeared, but I’ve replaced it with one from New Agriculturist that’s much the same.
Bunfight to feed Africa
The African Green Revolution conference will be held in Oslo from 29 August to 1 September. The Can Africa Feed Itself? conference will be held Oslo from 6 June to 8 June. What a shame there is no overlap; so neither side is likely to hear directly what the other is saying. Which would I rather be at?
At one:
As a conference participant, you can expect an environment of cross-disciplinary dialogue with abundant opportunity for personal interaction with colleagues and participants.
At the other:
There are different views among the speakers and the organizers of the conference on many of the issues approached. Exciting discussions will take place.
Tough call. Really. If you’re going to either — and especially if you’re going to both — we’d love to hear your impressions.
Globalization and parasite diversity
Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan ((From H. Michael Kubisch. Photograph shows toxoplasma dividing into daughter cells. Image provided by Ke Hu and John Murray. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.0020020.g001)) that can infect birds and mammals — although it can reproduce sexually only in domestic and wild cats. It has been estimated that about one in three human adults is infected, although the symptoms are usually minor. However, one particularly troublesome aspect of toxoplasma is its ability to cross the placenta from the mother and infect the growing fetus in utero. This can result in serious consequences in newborn children sometimes leading to heart and eye problems.
A recent study in the US has put an interesting spin on the genetic composition of toxoplasma. Toxoplasma DNA obtained from various chicken populations around the globe points to the existence of four major genetic strains, two found only in South America, one in the rest of the world — but not in South America — and a fourth population that seems to be ubiquitous.
The authors speculate that toxoplasma evolved initially in South America and then spread into Eurasia. The two populations were then separate for a long time. How this early migration might have happened is unclear; perhaps the parasite was carried by a bird. However, the spread of the Eurasian population back into North America, as well as the spread of the fourth population around the globe, could have had only one facilitator: us. At first the slave trade with its crammed and unsanitary ships possibly spread the parasite. Later, cargo ships containing agricultural goods might have given toxoplasma a lift to distant shores: in some locations the proportion of recent toxoplasma arrivals appears higher around port cities than further inland.
Yet another example of how human activity can shape evolutionary events, and contribute to diversity, in other species.