Enhancing the Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives in England

Humans require resilient, rapidly renewable and sustainable supplies of food and many other plant-derived supplies. However, the combined effects of climate change and population growth compromise the provision of these supplies particularly in respect to global food security. Crop wild relatives (CWR) contain higher genetic diversity than crops and harbour traits that can improve crop resilience and yield through plant breeding. However, in common with most countries, CWR are poorly conserved in England. There is currently no provision for long-term CWR conservation in situ, and comprehensive ex situ collection and storage of CWR is also lacking. However, there is a commitment to achieve their conservation in England’s Biodiversity Strategy and the UK has international commitments to do so as part of the Global Plant Conservation Strategy. Here, we identify a series of measures that could enhance the conservation of English CWR, thereby supporting the achievement of these national and international objectives. We provide an inventory of 148 priority English CWR, highlight hotspots of CWR diversity in sites including The Lizard Peninsula, the Dorset coast and Cambridgeshire and suggest appropriate sites for the establishment of a complementary network of genetic reserves. We also identify individual in situ and ex situ priorities for each English CWR. Based on these analyses, we make recommendations whose implementation could provide effective, long-term conservation of English CWR whilst facilitating their use in crop improvement.     

Comparing species and evolutionary diversity metrics to inform conservation

Phylogenetic diversity (PD) is an important measure for identifying areas of conservation. Phylogenetic diversity is a robust biodiversity metric because it accounts for the relationships among species, and not just the number of species. For this reason, it is an essential element for conservation planning. Unfortunately, PD metrics are not used by many for conservation planning. In the case of Colombia, which is rich in crop and wild plant biodiversity, lacks information on genetic resources of Crop Wild Relatives (CWR). Due to deforestation and agriculture expansion, the habitat, where these crop wild relatives grow, is being reduced at an alarming rate and could be destroyed altogether. This study focuses on crop wild relatives in Colombia, comparing species diversity versus PD-based metrics to show the advantages of using evolutionary information for conservation planning. We identified new areas with high PD and endemism among CWR diversity which are important to establishing comprehensive conservation strategies.     

Gap analyses of priority wild relatives of food crop in current ex situ and in situ conservation in Indonesia

Conservation programmes are always limited by available resources. Careful planning is therefore required to increase the efficiency of conservation and gap analysis can be used for this purpose. This method was used to assess the representativeness of current ex situ and in situ conservation actions of 234 priority crop wild relatives (CWR) in Indonesia. This analysis also included species distribution modelling, the creation of an ecogeographical land characterization map, and a complementarity analysis to identify priorities area for in situ conservation and for further collecting of ex situ conservation programmes. The results show that both current ex situ and in situ conservation actions are insufficient. Sixty-six percent of priority CWRs have no recorded ex situ collections. Eighty CWRs with ex situ collections are still under-represented in the national genebanks and 65 CWRs have no presence records within the existing protected area network although 60 are predicted to exist in several protected areas according to their potential distribution models. The complementarity analysis shows that a minimum of 61 complementary grid areas (complementary based on grid cells) are required to conserve all priority taxa and 40 complementary protected areas (complementary based on existing protected areas) are required to conserve those with known populations within the existing in situ protected area network. The top ten of complementary protected areas are proposed as the initial areas for the development of CWR genetic reserves network in Indonesia. It is recommended to enhanced coordination between ex situ and in situ conservation stakeholders for sustaining the long term conservation of CWR in Indonesia. Implementation of the research recommendations will provide for the first time an effective conservation planning of Indonesia’s CWR diversity and will significantly enhance the country’s food and nutritional security.

     

CWRML: representing crop wild relative conservation and use data in XML

Background  

Crop wild relatives are wild species that are closely related to crops. They are valuable as potential gene donors for crop improvement and may help to ensure food security for the future. However, they are becoming increasingly threatened in the wild and are inadequately conserved, both in situ and ex situ. Information about the conservation status and utilisation potential of crop wild relatives is diverse and dispersed, and no single agreed standard exists for representing such information; yet, this information is vital to ensure these species are effectively conserved and utilised. The European Community-funded project, European Crop Wild Relative Diversity Assessment and Conservation Forum, determined the minimum information requirements for the conservation and utilisation of crop wild relatives and created the Crop Wild Relative Information System, incorporating an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schema to aid data sharing and exchange.     

中国农作物及其野生近缘植物多样性研究进展

本研究围绕粮食、经济、果树、蔬菜、饲草与绿肥、花卉六大类作物,以物种多样性和遗传多样性等为主线,开展了中国农作物及其野生近缘植物多样性研究,取得重大进展。科学界定和系统规范了种质资源概念和范畴,提出了层次结构的理论,查清了中国粮食与农业植物有9631个物种及其分布、特征特性及用途;深入研究了中国农作物种质资源的本底,首次明确了中国农作物总计有528种（类）,涉及1339个栽培物种和1930个野生近缘植物物种;优化了农作物种以下农艺性状分类技术指标,阐明了中国农作物地方品种的987个变种、978个变型、1223个农艺性状特异类型的植物学特征、生物学特性及其遗传多样性;得出了中国是禾谷类作物裸粒基因、糯性基因、矮秆基因和育性基因等特异基因的起源中心或重要起源地之一的结论;首次编撰出版了《中国作物及其野生近缘植物》专著6卷,并编撰了《中国粮食与农业植物物种名录》,形成了具有中国特色的作物种质资源学科理论体系。为农作物种质资源的高效利用、保障粮食安全和农业可持续发展奠定了基础。     

Bee and non-bee pollinator importance for local food security

Pollinators are critical for food security; however, their contribution to the pollination of locally important crops is still unclear, especially for non-bee pollinators. We reviewed the diversity, conservation status, and role of bee and non-bee pollinators in 83 different crops described either as important for the global food market or of local importance. Bees are the most commonly recorded crop floral visitors. However, non-bee pollinators are frequently recorded visitors to crops of local importance. Non-bee pollinators in tropical ecosystems include nocturnal insects, bats, and birds. Importantly, nocturnal pollinators are neglected in current diurnal-oriented research and are experiencing declines. The integration of non-bee pollinators into scientific studies and conservation agenda is urgently required for more sustainable agriculture and safeguarding food security for both globally and locally important crops.     

Endemic wild potato (Solanum spp.) biodiversity status in Bolivia: Reasons for conservation concerns

Crop wild relatives possess important traits, therefore ex situ and in situ conservation efforts are essential to maintain sufficient options for crop improvement. Bolivia is a centre of wild relative diversity for several crops, among them potato, which is an important staple worldwide and the principal food crop in this country. Despite their relevance for plant breeding, limited knowledge exists about their in situ conservation status. We used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and distribution modelling with the software Maxent to better understand geographic patterns of endemic wild potato diversity in Bolivia. In combination with threat layers, we assessed the conservation status of all endemic species, 21 in total. We prioritised areas for in situ conservation by using complementary reserve selection and excluded 25% of the most-threatened collection sites because costs to implement conservation measures at those locations may be too high compared to other areas. Some 70% (15 of 21 species) has a preliminary vulnerable status or worse according to IUCN red list distribution criteria. Our results show that four of these species would require special conservation attention because they were only observed in <15 locations and are highly threatened by human accessibility, fires and livestock pressure. Although highest species richness occurs in south-central Bolivia, in the departments Santa Cruz and Chuquisaca, the first priority area for in situ conservation according to our reserve selection exercise is central Bolivia, Cochabamba; this area is less threatened than the potato wild relatives’ hotspot in south-central Bolivia. Only seven of the 21 species were observed in protected areas. To improve coverage of potato wild relatives’ distribution by protected areas, we recommend starting inventories in parks and reserves with high modelled diversity. Finally, to improve ex situ conservation, we targeted areas for germplasm collection of species with <5 accessions conserved in genebanks.     

New approaches for establishing conservation priorities for socio-economically important plant species

The establishment of priorities among species is a crucial step in any conservation strategy since financial resources are generally limited. Traditionally, priorities for conservation of plant species have been focused on endemicity, rarity and particularly on their threatened status. Crop wild relatives (CWR) and wild harvested plants (WHP) are important elements of biodiversity with actual or potential socio-economic value. In this study, eight prioritisation criteria were used along with different prioritisation systems and applied to the Portuguese CWR and WHP. The top 50 species obtained by each of these methods were identified. The final top CWR were those that occurred as a priority in most methods. Twenty CWR were identified as the highest priorities for conservation in Portugal and they include wild relatives of the crop genera Allium, Daucus, Dianthus, Epilobium, Festuca, Herniaria, Narcissus, Quercus, Plantago, Trifolium, and Vicia. Eighteen WHP were recognised as priorities for conservation and include several Narcissus and Thymus species, among others. The advantages, limitations and level of subjectivity of each of the methods used in this exercise are discussed.     

Projecting the effects of climate change on the distribution of maize races and their wild relatives in Mexico

Climate change is expected to be a significant threat to biodiversity, including crop diversity at centers of origin and diversification. As a way to avoid food scarcity in the future, it is important to have a better understanding of the possible impacts of climate change on crops. We evaluated these impacts on maize, one of the most important crops worldwide, and its wild relatives Tripsacum and Teocintes. Maize is the staple crop in Mexico and Mesoamerica, and there are currently about 59 described races in Mexico, which is considered its center of origin . In this study, we modeled the distribution of maize races and its wild relatives in Mexico for the present and for two time periods in the future (2030 and 2050), to identify the potentially most vulnerable taxa and geographic regions in the face of climate change. Bioclimatic distribution of crops has seldom been modeled, probably because social and cultural factors play an important role on crop suitability. Nonetheless, rainfall and temperature still represent a major influence on crop distribution pattern, particularly in rainfed crop systems under traditional agrotechnology. Such is the case of Mexican maize races and consequently, climate change impacts can be expected. Our findings generally show significant reductions of potential distribution areas by 2030 and 2050 in most cases. However, future projections of each race show contrasting responses to climatic scenarios. Several evaluated races show new potential distribution areas in the future, suggesting that proper management may favor diversity conservation. Modeled distributions of Tripsacum species and Teocintes indicate more severe impacts compared with maize races. Our projections lead to in situ and ex situ conservation recommended actions to guarantee the preservation of the genetic diversity of Mexican maize.     

Water stress resilient cereal crops: Lessons from wild relatives

Cereal crops are significant contributors to global diets. As climate change disrupts weather patterns and wreaks havoc on crops, the need for generating stress-resilient, high-yielding varieties is more urgent than ever. One extremely promising avenue in this regard is to exploit the tremendous genetic diversity expressed by the wild ancestors of current day crop species. These crop wild relatives thrive in a range of environments and accordingly often harbor an array of traits that allow them to do so. The identification and introgression of these traits into our staple cereal crops can lessen yield losses in stressful environments. In the last decades, a surge in extreme drought and flooding events have severely impacted cereal crop production. Climate models predict a persistence of this trend, thus reinforcing the need for research on water stress resilience. Here we review: (i) how water stress (drought and flooding) impacts crop performance; and (ii) how identification of tolerance traits and mechanisms from wild relatives of the main cereal crops, that is, rice, maize, wheat, and barley, can lead to improved survival and sustained yields in these crops under water stress conditions.     

中国作物野生近缘植物资源

中国地域辽阔,气候多样,地形复杂,土壤类型繁多,加之农业历史悠久,不仅作物种类众多,而且很多作物都有其野生近缘种,从而使得中国成为世界作物的重要起源中心之一。本文在介绍中国作物种类的同时,列出了各类作物的野生近缘植物资源,为进一步深入研究和开发利用这些资源,以及国家制定野生植物保护有关政策提供基础数据和信息。     

转基因植物对农业生物多样性的影响

论述了近年来转基因植物对农业生态系统生物多样性影响的研究进展．主要在遗传多样性、物种多样性和生态系统多样性3个层次上予以评述．包括转基因植物对作物遗传多样性的影响;转基因植物的外源基因向杂草和近缘野生种转移;转基因抗虫植物对目标害虫的影响。抗除草剂转基因植物对作物和杂草的影响,抗病毒转基因植物对病毒的影响;转基因植物对非目标生物的影响,对土壤生态系统的影响等．     

中国粮食作物的野生近缘植物及其保存概况

中国的主要粮食作物约有20种,它们的多数都有野生近缘植物.目前,中国保存的粮食作物野生近缘植物资源约1.5万份,分别保存在国家作物种质资源库和种质圃内.     

Ex Situ Conservation Priorities for the Wild Relatives of Potato (Solanum L. Section Petota)

Crop wild relatives have a long history of use in potato breeding, particularly for pest and disease resistance, and are expected to be increasingly used in the search for tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Their current and future use in crop improvement depends on their availability in ex situ germplasm collections. As these plants are impacted in the wild by habitat destruction and climate change, actions to ensure their conservation ex situ become ever more urgent. We analyzed the state of ex situ conservation of 73 of the closest wild relatives of potato (Solanum section Petota) with the aim of establishing priorities for further collecting to fill important gaps in germplasm collections. A total of 32 species (43.8%), were assigned high priority for further collecting due to severe gaps in their ex situ collections. Such gaps are most pronounced in the geographic center of diversity of the wild relatives in Peru. A total of 20 and 18 species were assessed as medium and low priority for further collecting, respectively, with only three species determined to be sufficiently represented currently. Priorities for further collecting include: (i) species completely lacking representation in germplasm collections; (ii) other high priority taxa, with geographic emphasis on the center of species diversity; (iii) medium priority species. Such collecting efforts combined with further emphasis on improving ex situ conservation technologies and methods, performing genotypic and phenotypic characterization of wild relative diversity, monitoring wild populations in situ, and making conserved wild relatives and their associated data accessible to the global research community, represent key steps in ensuring the long-term availability of the wild genetic resources of this important crop.     

Origins of food crops connect countries worldwide

Research into the origins of food plants has led to the recognition that specific geographical regions around the world have been of particular importance to the development of agricultural crops. Yet the relative contributions of these different regions in the context of current food systems have not been quantified. Here we determine the origins (‘primary regions of diversity’) of the crops comprising the food supplies and agricultural production of countries worldwide. We estimate the degree to which countries use crops from regions of diversity other than their own (‘foreign crops’), and quantify changes in this usage over the past 50 years. Countries are highly interconnected with regard to primary regions of diversity of the crops they cultivate and/or consume. Foreign crops are extensively used in food supplies (68.7% of national food supplies as a global mean are derived from foreign crops) and production systems (69.3% of crops grown are foreign). Foreign crop usage has increased significantly over the past 50 years, including in countries with high indigenous crop diversity. The results provide a novel perspective on the ongoing globalization of food systems worldwide, and bolster evidence for the importance of international collaboration on genetic resource conservation and exchange.     

In situ conservation of crop genetic resources through maintenance of traditional farming systems

A strategy is suggested for in situ conservation of crop genetic resources whereby conservation efforts are linked to rural development projects in Third World countries. We describe development projects that emphasize preservation of traditional farming systems and succeed in sustaining production by relying on the maintenance of biological and genetic diversity in these systems. Basing agricultural development efforts on indigenous knowledge, technology, and social organization can provide important guidelines for the design of cropping systems that allow lowincome farmers to produce subsistence and cash crops without dependence on external inputs and seed supplies. By incorporating landraces and wild relatives of crops into these cropping systems, major achievements in the conservation of crop genetic resources can be obtained.     

Towards a definition of a crop wild relative

Crop wild relatives are an important socio-economic resource that is currently being eroded or even extinguished through careless human activities. If the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD 2010 Biodiversity Target of achieving a significant reduction in the current rate of loss is to be achieved, we must first define what crop wild relatives are and how their conservation might be prioritised. A definition of a crop wild relative is proposed and illustrated in the light of previous Gene Pool concept theory. Where crossing and genetic diversity information is unavailable, the Taxon Group concept is introduced to assist recognition of the degree of crop wild relative relatedness by using the existing taxonomic hierarchy.     

重庆部分地区的种质资源调查荞麦篇

"第三次全国农作物种质资源调查与收集"重庆项目组,于2015年10月至11月初在重庆市巫山县、奉节县和石柱县3个县开展了农业生物资源的系统调查,通过深入村社和农户,调查了解作物种类与品种多样性情况,收集和挖掘古老、特有和稀少种质资源。本次调查共收集到农作物地方品种和野生近缘植物种质资源341份,其中粮油作物136份、蔬菜86份、果树57份、茶树5份、烟草22份、牧草30份、麻类5份。本文重点介绍在粮油作物中的荞麦种质资源调查和资源收集情况,在收集到的19份荞麦资源中,既有珍稀、古老的地方品种,也包括特有野生资源。荞麦承载了彝族等少数民族的文化内涵,随着现代农业的发展,荞麦的古老、珍稀和特有种质资源正在流失,建议相关部门因地制宜,在发展现代农业生产的同时,采取必要的经济措施,对古老、珍稀和特有的荞麦种质资源,进行农户或原生境保护,为进一步开发利用提供种质资源基础。     

中国作物种质资源多样性

本文综述了中国作物种质资源的物种多样性和遗传多样性。按农艺学和用途可将中国作物分为8大类即粮食作物、经济作物、蔬菜作物、果树作物、饲用和绿肥作物、花卉作物、药用作物和林木作物。汇集了中国作物总计有840种（类）,涉及栽培物种1251个和野生近缘植物物种3308个,它们隶属176个科和619个属,这充分说明中国作物种质资源物种多样性相当丰富。依据中国作物的类型或变种多和性状变异幅度大,阐明了中国作物种质资源遗传多样性十分丰富。为中国作物种质资源的收集、保护、高效利用、创新、分类和遗传研究奠定了坚实基础,为生物多样性保护提供了科学依据。