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National Genetic Resources Advisory Council discusses birds and bees and diversity

Speaking of meetings…

The National Genetic Resources Advisory Council (NGRAC), a sub-committee of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is holding a meeting November 9-10, 2015, in Baton Rouge, LA. The meeting will focus on the conservation and utilization of livestock, aquatic and honeybee genetics; a discussion on genetic diversity and genetic vulnerability; and cross cutting issues related to genetic resources and Tribes.

All NGRAC meetings are open to the public, and Matthew Dillon of Seed Matters, who is a “general public member” according to the NGRAC website, has been posting about it all over social media. There is, for example, a photograph of bee insemination that those of our readers who are on Facebook might find irresistible. I for one found this Instagram offering interesting:

Robust discussion today. Diversity is complex, of course. #seed #genetics #agriculture

A photo posted by Seed Matters (@seed_matters) on

I wish I’d been there to fight the corner of “number of varieties” as a way of measuring genetic diversity and vulnerability. Problematic, sure, but useless? That seems harsh. If nothing else, the hunt for lost (or maybe lost) heirloom varieties has great resonance with the public.

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Answering the big genebank questions

A couple of important conferences are coming up and, as readers know, we like to keep on top of such things. So if you’re going, and would like to blog for us, or are thinking of tweeting the proceedings, let us know. Some big questions are being pondered, so it should be fun.

First on the agenda is the Tri-Societies meeting, this year in Minneapolis, on 15-18 November. 1 With that, the conoscenti will know, goes the award of the Frank N. Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources, which on this occasion will be presented to Dr Paul Gepts, who I believe is an occasional reader of our blog. Congratulations to Paul, who will deliver a lecture entitled A More Intensive Use of Crop Genetic Resources? Hopeful Future or Business As Usual? The answer seems, perhaps not surprisingly, to depend on more and better data.

Then in January there is PAG XXIV in San Diego and its Genomics of Genebanks workshop. Particularly intriguing is a talk from our friends at the International Potato Center, who ask Are you getting what you ordered from your genebank? The answer to that question seems to be: not always, but we’re working on it. Somebody mention better data?

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Brainfood: Wild barley diversity double, Sesame diversity, Coconut genome size, Giant anteater, Sucking mangoes, Teff development, PhilRice, Korean soybeans, Coffee forest management, Switchgrass diversity, Yam diversity

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Hibiscus lost and found

Hibiscus storckii is one of the original, native species hibiscus plants that is a probable ancestor to the modern hibiscus hybrids. It was discovered and named by a botanist visiting the island of Fiji in the 1800s. Expeditions to the island since then have not located any surviving examples of this species of hibiscus still growing on Fiji. The flowers are pink and white, and the bush is small, full, and well-branched. Kew Botanical Gardens in England received cuttings of this species directly from the botanist who discovered it and fortunately has been able to grow it continually ever since.

Yeah, well, the bit about the species not being found in Fiji is happily no longer the case. Because my friend Lex Thomson has just posted this photo on Facebook:

Fiji's endemic hibiscus rediscovered in the wild yesterday after being lost for more than 150 years. Photo by David Bush (CSIRO), used by permission
Fiji’s endemic hibiscus rediscovered in the wild yesterday after being lost for more than 150 years. Photo by David Bush (CSIRO), used by permission.

And, to make you (and me) even more envious, here’s where it was found:

Site of rediscovery of Hibiscus storckii on a very steep and spectacular location on Vanua Levu, Fiji. Photo David Bush (CSIRO)
Site of rediscovery of Hibiscus storckii on a very steep and spectacular location on Vanua Levu, Fiji. Photo David Bush (CSIRO), used by permission.

I do love it when a wild relative, and a beautiful one at that, turns up in something other than an herbarium specimen. Thanks to Lex and his CSIRO colleague David Bush for letting us bring you the news, and the pix.