As we again hear about fighting in and around the headquarters of ICARDA near Aleppo, 1 it is at least some measure of consolation that a further consignment of seeds from the genebank has made it to Svalbard. Our thoughts are with the staff that remain, and that managed, in the face of incredible odds, to make this latest shipment.
A one-step approach to clarify the origin of crop species
We asked Dr Dan Brock to break down his paper on the domestication of Jerusalem Artichoke. Thanks, Dan. Sandy Knapp has also had her say on this. Who needs the full text of papers these days.
Identifying the wild progenitors of crops is one of the key steps we have to take if we are to effectively harness the diversity maintained in the world’s genebanks. This information can and should be used to fuel efforts to increase the productivity and sustainability of modern agriculture. In the case of allopolyploid crop species, which are formed by a combination of interspecific hybridization and genome duplication, this information is also of technical significance. In these systems, a major obstacle in the way of genome-scale surveys of genetic diversity is the fact that variation occurring between the progenitor-derived sets of chromosomes cannot be discerned from variation occurring within each chromosome set. In a recent publication in the journal New Phytologist 2 we highlight a one-step approach that can be used to clarify the origins of previously intractable polyploid complexes, using Jerusalem Artichoke as an example.
The Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) is a culturally and economically important tuber-producing hexaploid whose origin has long fascinated botanists. Despite prolonged interest, the evolutionary history of this species has, until recently, remained a mystery. Different hypotheses have so far proposed the annual sunflower H. annuus as well as numerous other congeners as its likely progenitors. We tested these competing scenarios using the genome skimming approach. 3 One lane of Illumina sequencing generated sufficient data to reconstruct complete plastid genomes, partial mitochondrial genomes, as well as partial 35S and 5S nuclear-encoded ribosomal DNA for the Jerusalem Artichoke and its candidate progenitors. Analyses performed using these data provided unprecedented resolution for this group, which is notoriously difficult to resolve using phylogenetic inference. Our results showed that the Jerusalem Artichoke originated repeatedly via hybridization between the Hairy Sunflower (H. hirsutus), which likely served as the maternal parent, and the Sawtooth Sunflower (H. grosseserratus), which likely served as the paternal parent.
The advent of new sequencing technologies has made ever-increasing portions of the genome available for investigation, with ever-decreasing investment in researcher time and effort. We are therefore in an ideal position: we can use these breakthroughs to resolve the origins of crops like the Jerusalem Artichoke whose unclear ancestry has, until now, hampered evolutionarily-informed germplasm preservation and genome-enabled progress.
PNAS special feature on domestication surfaces
Those of you looking for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences big special feature on “The Modern View of Domestication” won’t find it at the URL we previously cited. Twice. You will, however, find it here. I smell another Brainfood coming…
LATER: And here’s the latest press release.
Brainfood: Prunus africana diversity, Collecting Prunus, African extension, Nepal genebank, Greek plant eBay, Pepper diversity, Pest spread, Grassland diversity, Cowpea fermentation, Pea diversity, Banana cryo, Biodiversity trends
- Genetic structuring of remnant forest patches in an endangered medicinal tree in North-western Ethiopia. You need to conserve a range of patches of Prunus africana, and probably not just in situ. Would have been perfect for last week’s Brainfood on the complementarity of ex situ and in situ.
- Using simulations to optimize genetic diversity in Prunus avium seed harvests. And if you were to collect seeds for ex situ conservation, this is how you could do it, or at least figure out how best to do it.
- Exploring the Role of Agricultural Extension in Promoting Biodiversity Conservation in Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Don’t look to extension for help though.
- Ex situ plant conservation initiative in developing country: Nepal as a case study. Wonder if the material in the Himalayan Seed Bank was collected in that way. Or with the help of extensionists for that matter.
- The Electronic Trade in Greek Endemic Plants: Biodiversity, Commercial and Legal Aspects. Or indeed the 10% of the endemic Greek flora that’s traded online. Yeah I know this was in the special Easter Brainfood, but I couldn’t resist the narrative.
- New sources of resistance to Phytophthora capsici in Capsicum spp. For Korea, that is. But they came from all over. As ever.
- Hosting major international events leads to pest redistributions. Watch out Brazil!
- Pyrenean meadows in Natura 2000 network: grass production and plant biodiversity conservation. Forbs are unjustly maligned. Probably starts with that silly name.
- Chemical Changes during Open and Controlled Fermentation of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Flour. Fermentation detoxifies and doesn’t affect nutritional content much. No word on whether it helps with all the farting. Evaluate that!
- Geographical Gradient of the eIF4E Alleles Conferring Resistance to Potyviruses in Pea (Pisum) Germplasm. Gargantuan study of 2,800 global accessions finds 4 resistance alleles, each with its own geographic structure. Much variation, but no resistance in the wild relatives. Bummer.
- Phenotypic and molecular studies for genetic stability assessment of cryopreserved banana meristems derived from field and in vitro explant sources. You can cryopreserve straight from field-grown sucker meristems, rather than having to go through tissue culture. Handy.
- Assemblage Time Series Reveal Biodiversity Change but Not Systematic Loss. Ecosystems are changing, but not yet becoming noticeably less diverse.
Special Brainfood Extra: Economic Botany, Volume 68, Number 1
A whole issue of a journal given the Brainfood treatment. Because I’ve got allergies and can’t go out and it’s a holiday and I’m bored. Think of it as an Easter egg. Unnecessary, but tasty.
- Are Ecologically Important Tree Species the Most Useful? A Case Study from Indigenous People in the Bolivian Amazon. Among medicinal and edible species, the most used are not the ones that most strike you as you walk around. Unlike the case for species used in construction and crafts.
- The Electronic Trade in Greek Endemic Plants: Biodiversity, Commercial and Legal Aspects. Seemingly profitable, but possibly largely illegal. And I’m willing to bet that the ones that are most traded are the ones that are most difficult to find.
- Medicinal Plant Trade in Sierra Leone: Threats and Opportunities for Conservation. No internet involved, but still profitable. For how long? I guess that depends on how easy they are to find, and harvest sustainably.
- Structure and Floristic Composition of Forest Management Systems Associated with the Edible Fruit Tree Oecopetalum mexicanum in the Sierra de Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico. You can manage a landscape to favour a particular, strikingly important species, and also promote diversity.
- Contemporary Gathering Practice and Antioxidant Benefit of Wild Seaweeds in Hawai’i. No word on whether the most obvious ones are are the ones that are most used, but I gotta believe that they are.
- The Food System during the Formative Period in West Mesoamerica. Advent of ceramics may have had an important effect on crops and food.
- Fuelling the Ancient Maya Salt Industry. Not to mention on their seasoning.
- Identification of Cannabis Fiber from the Astana Cemeteries, Xinjiang, China, with Reference to Its Unique Decorative Utilization. Used to make the tails on horse figurines. No word on further, ahem, ritual uses.
- Big Messages in Small Details: Nature in Roman Archaeology. Even the small details of the natural world on the Ara Pacis have meaning. Like the horses’ tails?