Setting conservation priorities for crop wild relatives in the Fertile Crescent

Zair, Wathek; Maxted, Nigel; Amri, Ahmed

doi:10.1007/s10722-017-0576-3

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) is a cool-season perennial Triticeae grass, native to parts of Eastern Europe and western Asia, that has been widely used for soil conservation and forage production in North America and other temperate regions of the World (Jensen et al 2016;Zair et al 2018). Intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) ranks among the highest-yielding forage and biomass crops that can be grown across regions of the Upper Midwest, Great Plains and Intermountain regions of Canada, the United States, and other places where it is cultivated (Harmoney 2015;Kenneth and Kevin 2001;Larson et al 2017;Lee et al 2009;Monono et al 2013;Pearson et al 2015;Robins 2010;Wang et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Species of the genus Thinopyrum, including IWG, are considered the closest perennial relatives of common wheat (Triticum aestivum) and comprise a useful part of its tertiary gene pool (Ceoloni et al 2015;Lang et al 2018;Li et al 2017;Liu et al 2017;Uzma et al 2015;Zair et al 2018). Common wheat and IWG have similar allohexaploid genomes (2n=6x=42).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genome mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling domestication traits of intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium)

et al. 2019

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Allohexaploid (2n=6x=42) intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium), abbreviated IWG, is an outcrossing perennial grass belonging to the tertiary gene pool of wheat. Perenniality would be valuable option for grain production, but attempts to introgress this complex trait from wheat-Thinopyrum hybrids have not been commercially successful. Efforts to breed IWG itself as a dual-purpose forage and grain crop have demonstrated useful progress and applications, but grain yields are significantly less than wheat. Therefore, genetic and physical maps have been developed to accelerate domestication of IWG. Herein, these maps were used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes associated with IWG grain production traits in a family of 266 full-sib progenies derived from two heterozygous parents, M26 and M35. Transgressive segregation was observed for 17 traits related to seed size, shattering, threshing, inflorescence capacity, fertility, stem size, and flowering time. A total of 111 QTLs were detected in 36 different regions using 3,826 genotype-by-sequence (GBS) markers in 21 linkage groups. The most prominent QTL had a LOD score of 15 with synergistic effects of 29% and 22% over the family means for seed retention and percent naked seed, respectively. Many QTLs aligned to one or more IWG gene models corresponding to 42 possible domestication orthogenes including the wheat Q and RHT genes. A cluster of seed-size and fertility QTLs showed possible alignment to a putative Z self-incompatibility gene, which could have detrimental grain-yield effects when genetic variability is low. These findings elucidate pathways and possible hurdles in the domestication of IWG.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling domestication traits of intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium)

et al. 2019

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“…There are many conservation strategies that could be used to improve conservation of cacao CWR, including identification of priority taxa, establishment of sites for active in situ conservation and development of ex situ collection plans (Maxted et al 2008;Maxted and Kell 2009;Maxted et al 2010;Hunter and Heywood 2010;Maxted et al 2013;Rubio Teso et al 2013;Magos Brehm et al 2017;Dulloo and Thorman 2017;Zair et al 2018). We suggest a conservation strategy (Fig.…”

Section: Conservation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 87%

Exploring the diversity and distribution of crop wild relatives of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Colombia

González‐Orozco

Galán²,

Ramos

et al. 2020

Genet Resour Crop Evol

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Crop wild relatives are important for agriculture because they contain high levels of genetic diversity and grow in a wide range of habitats and environments. Colombia has the largest number of cacao crop wild relatives in the world, including different species of the genus Theobroma and its sister genus Herrania. This paper investigates diversity and distribution of cacao crop wild relatives in Colombia using species occurrences extracted from museum and herbarium archives, fieldwork collections gathered on recently conducted expeditions and species distribution modelling. A total of 211 botanical collections comprising 174 samples of Theobroma species, and 37 samples of Herrania species were collected on expeditions to Caguán–Caquetá in the upper Amazon basin and La Victoria, in the Pacific region of central Choco. These collections represent 22 taxa of cacao crop wild relatives. On the Chocó expedition, we reported the highest richness and endemism, where seven taxa of Theobroma and three of Herrania were found within a radius of 10 km, which has never been recorded before. On the Amazon expedition, we found an abundance of wild populations of Theobroma cacao on the river banks. We estimated that 95% of the most suitable environments for wild cacao in Colombia are in unprotected areas. Our study reveals that species diversity and endemism of cacao crop wild relatives in Colombia is under sampled and distributional patterns are incomplete. Based on the findings of our study, we propose a conservation strategy that consists of further expeditions to collect herbarium and germplasm samples, and habitat protection of cacao crop wild relatives in Colombia.

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“…Occurrence records were collated from herbaria, gene banks and online databases for the priority list of 441 CWR taxa in the Fertile Crescent (Zair et al 2017). The list of data sources of the occurrence records used in the potential distribution modelling and the gap analysis are summarised in Supplementary Table 12.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ex situ and in situ conservation gap analysis of crop wild relative diversity in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East

Zair

Maxted

Brehm

et al. 2020

Genet Resour Crop Evol

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Crop wild relatives (CWRs) are important reservoirs of adaptive traits for crop breeding programmes. Both ex situ and in situ conservation approaches should be deployed to ensure CWR availability for use. This paper aims to (a) create a regional database of occurrence records for the 441 priority CWRs in the Fertile Crescent, (b) identify CWR-rich areas in the Fertile Crescent, (c) recommend locations to implement genetic reserves intended for CWRs active in situ conservation and (d) undertake ex situ and in situ conservation gap analyses. The study area comprises Jordan, Syria, Palestine/Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. Occurrence records of the 441 priority CWR within the Fertile Crescent were gathered from herbaria, gene banks and online databases. Gaps in the current ex situ and in situ conservation were identified. Hotspots of CWR diversity were identified, and complementary analysis was carried out to identify areas for in situ conservation using DIVA-GIS. Then proposed genetic reserves were compared with the existing protected areas to establish genetic reserve areas whether within or outside the protected areas. A total of 23,878 occurrence records were collated for 441 CWR priorities. The first priority grid square is located in Syria near Tal Kalakh City, close to the Lebanese border from the north. The second priority site is located in Turkey’s Izmir Province near Kemal Atatürk Mahallesi. The third priority site is located in Turkey’s Sahinbey/Gaziantep Province. The ex situ gap analysis revealed that of the 441 taxa, 134 (30%) CWRs are totally absent from the current gene banks collections. Only 307 (70%) CWRs are represented in gene banks, and, of these taxa, 252 (57%) of them have less than 10 accessions in gene banks. A total of 353 taxa were categorised as a high priority for collection and conservation; 23 taxa were categorised as a medium priority and 41 taxa as a low priority. However, 24 taxa were identified that did not require urgent collection (see Supplementary Table 7). The most important areas for a further collection of ex situ conservation are located in the west and south of Turkey across the Mediterranean seashore, north of Lebanon and west of Syria (in Lattakia and Tartus Governorate), across the border between Turkey and Syria and northern Iraq. Ten genetic reserves are recommended in the Fertile Crescent for CWR conservation. The results and methods used will help meet the conservation targets of CWR in the Fertile Crescent; they will also help achieve global food security.

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Setting conservation priorities for crop wild relatives in the Fertile Crescent

Cited by 16 publications

References 21 publications

Genome mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling domestication traits of intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium)

Genome mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling domestication traits of intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium)

Exploring the diversity and distribution of crop wild relatives of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Colombia

Ex situ and in situ conservation gap analysis of crop wild relative diversity in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East

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