Using Geographic Information to Acquire Wild Crop Germplasm for Ex Situ Collections: II. Post‐Collection Analysis

Abstract

Without committing significant resources in the decision‐making process, curators are challenged to identify among newly collected germplasm, exceptional accessions that merit inclusion in ex situ collections. The objectives of this paper were to illustrate how geographic information can be used to infer (i) site uniqueness relative to other sites sampled, (ii) the likelihood that an accession reflects adaptation to the site, and (iii) uniqueness of a given accession relative to other accessions of the same taxon collected. Forage legume germplasm was collected from the western Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia in 1995. Prior to the trip, a database was developed from geographic information system software that included data from Russian maps, orbital satellite imagery, remotely sensed elevation data, and long. term climate data from weather stations. Data were collected characterizing the collection sites. A map was developed that partitioned the collection area into standard landscape units from the GIS‐derived climate data. The cross‐classification map was used to assess collection coverage and identify sites that had similar ecogeographic characteristics. Germplasm was collected from 41% of the possible moisture and temperature zone combinations. Site redundancy was also identified. Local passport data, GIS‐derived data and the cross‐classification map were used to identify accessions of Trifolium pratense L. adapted to acid soil by inferring the influence of micro evolutionary forces such as selection and gene flow that could lead to geographic differentiation. Of 36 accessions, six met the test of being collected from undisturbed sites with acidic soils, being the sole representatives of unique climate classes and having been isolated from other T. prutense accessions. The post‐collection analysis provided a cost‐effective way of determining the accessions that warranted inclusion into the NPGS T. pratense germplasm collection.

Variabilidade genética e ecológica de Stylosanthes macrocephala determinadas por RAPD e SIG

“…(Chapman & Barreto, 1996;Greene et al, 1999;Grenier et al, 2001;Guarino, et al, 2002). Tal variabilidade é essencial em programas de melhoramento genético.…”

“…Atualmente, a Embrapa Cerrados possui um banco com mais de 1.400 acessos do gênero Stylosanthes, sendo 136 S. macrocephala, com alto potencial em programas de melhoramento genético, conforme avaliações realizadas na Embrapa Cerrados (Andrade et al, 2004). A caracterização genética dos acessos é essencial para determinar o grau de variabilidade das coleções, enquanto características ecogeográficas dos pontos de coleta permitem inferir possíveis vantagens adaptativas de cada acesso (Chapman & Barreto, 1996;Greene et al, 1999;Guarino et al, 2002). Ambas as informações orientam os programas de coleta e fornecem subsídios para a seleção do material adequado ao trabalho de melhoramento genético (Jarvis et al, 2003).…”

Tests of Taxonomic and Biogeographic Predictivity: Resistance to Disease and Insect Pests in Wild Relatives of Cultivated Potato

“…We considered values above 0.8 as very strong, between 0.6 and 0.8 as strong, between 0.4 and 0.6 as moderate, between 0.2 and 0.4 as weak, and between 0 and 0.2 as very weak. Greene et al (1999aGreene et al ( , 1999b demonstrated the utility of geographic information systems (GIS) analysis, combining physical distance and environmental data, in exploring sampling protocols. We tested associations of disease and pest resistances to climatic variables following our same methodologies in Jansky et al (2006Jansky et al ( , 2008.…”

Geographic information systems (GIS) and the conservation and use of plant genetic resources.

“…Interpolated climate surfaces can also be used to characterize conditions at each collection site given its latitude, longitude and altitude, for example using FLORAMAP. Steiner and Greene (1996) describe this process as 'retro-classification' of accessions and give an example of its usefulness using the Lotus collection of the US National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) (see also Greene et al, 1999b).…”