<i>In Situ</i> Conservation of Wild Rice Populations: A Targeted Study of Common Wild Rice <i>Oryza rufipogon</i> from China

Abstract

Although great accomplishments of in situ conservation have been made during the last decade throughout the world, there is an urgent need to conduct more targeted research to explore many basic questions about crop wild relatives (CWR) <i>in situ</i> conservation such as how to better identify and manage the target <i>in situ</i> conservation populations of CWR. In this study, we performed an extensive field investigation of 201 natural populations or habitats of O. <i>rufipogon</i>, a seriously endangered wild progenitor of cultivated rice in China. Our updated information suggests that: 1) the majority of the natural populations have been extinct throughout China, which leads to serious fragmentation of the population system as a whole; and 2) the survived populations have become small in size and thus fragmented within the population as a result of the loss of subpopulations. To assess the relationships between the biodiversity education and conservation of wild rice, we employed participatory approaches in the field investigation. Our data indicate that the continuous rapid decline of biodiversity education seemed closely related to the extinction of wild rice germplasm. These findings imply the potential necessity and huge challenge for making <i>in situ</i> conservation plans in the future. By means of our understanding of ecogeography, sociology and culture, and population genetics of the species, we propose a strategy for selecting <i>in situ</i> conservation locations as well as priority sites for establishing <i>in situ</i> conservation practices in China

Detection of locally adapted genomic regions in wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) using environmental association analysis

“…O. rufipogon has a perennial life cycle and occurs in permanent wetland environments, including ponds, marshes, rivers, and streams ( Gao et al . 2012 ), preferring relatively deep water between 0.2 and 4 m ( Vaughan 1994 ).…”

Dehiscence method: a seed-saving, quick and simple viability assessment in rice

“…Plants are the producers of the globe and it is the floristic diversity that maintains the multifunctionality of the ecosystem [ 2 ], sustains its productivity and carbon/nitrogen cycles [ 3 – 5 ], assists the ecosystem resistance to extreme climate [ 2 ] and these in turn benefit the diversity of both wild and cultivated species [ 6 ]. Crop wild relatives and landraces are precious to agriculture, because they bear invaluable genetic resources and are the material basis of agriculture [ 7 , 8 ], like the wild rice (e.g. Oryza rufipogen Griff) which is on the International Conservation Union Red List [ 8 ].…”

“…Crop wild relatives and landraces are precious to agriculture, because they bear invaluable genetic resources and are the material basis of agriculture [ 7 , 8 ], like the wild rice (e.g. Oryza rufipogen Griff) which is on the International Conservation Union Red List [ 8 ]. Since plant diversity loss threats the world’s food security and human welfare, biodiversity conservation is one of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations [ 9 ].…”