Genebank ‐ in vitro propagation of potato and sweetpotato. CIP‐SOP056 V 3.0

This procedure describes the in vitro multiplication of potato and sweetpotato germplasm for international and national germplasm distribution, as well as, in vitro conservation, phytosanitary, and cryopreservation activities

International genetic, cytogenetic and germplasm resources for cotton genomics and genetic improvement

A general understanding of the nature, uses and need of cotton germplasm collections is important to maintaining support for them and their utilization. Such support is vital to addressing the future challenges and needs of cotton, which will be many and varied. The solutions to many of these challenges will be genetic, and involve the scientific utilization of cotton genetic and germplasm resources. In this presentation, we will look at a number of key sites from around the world, to illustrate the types of genetic, cytogenetic and germplasm collections that exist. The taxa that constitute cotton germplasm can be categorized into primary, secondary and tertiary "gene pools" that progressively connote both the relative difficulty of introgression and their likelihood of harboring new genetic diversity. We will exemplify past and ongoing usage. Patterns of introgression reflect the gene-pool classifications. The International Cotton Genome Initiative (ICGI) is facilitating globalization of scientific interactions that affect these collections, their access, and their contributions to cotton science and genetic improvement - these will benefit cotton worldwide. Lastly, we will look at what the near future may bring in the way of new paradigms for utilization of genetic stocks, cytogenetic stocks, germplasm and molecular markers in cotton science and genetic improvement. (Résumé d'auteur

The Musa Germplasm Information System enhances knowledge of banana diversity

Bananas (Musa spp.) are a staple food and vital source of income for millions of people. These livelihoods in developing countries depend on over 1000 traditional varieties that are mostly consumed locally. Because Musa cultivars are usually seedless, their genetic diversity must be conserved as full-size plants or plantlets, in field collections or in in vitro genebanks. More than 6000 accessions are conserved in about 60 Musa national collections. The Global Musa Germplasm Collection (ITC) in Belgium, managed by Bioversity International, stores more than 1400 Musa germplasm accessions in trust. The utilization of the germplasm in the collection depends on the availability of information relating to the characteristics of each germplasm accession. In 1997, the Musa Germplasm Information System (MGIS) was developed. It is a global exchange system and the most extensive source of data on Musa genetic resources. It contains information on 5522 accessions managed in 22 banana collections, including passport data (where and when the germplasm accession was collected, donated or developed), botanical classification, morpho-taxonomic descriptors, and evaluation data (characteristics such as agronomic traits, disease, and stress tolerance) as well as many different photographs. Each participating collection enters and manages its own accession data, which is centralized by Bioversity. Links have been created to external data sources such as the System-wide Information Network for Genetic Resources (SINGER), under which FAO in-trust accessions held by ITC are published. MGIS has been recognised by the Generation Challenge Programme as a model system for storing accession-level data. However, it represents an incomplete dataset due to either the lack of capacity or motivation by several collections to contribute to it. The database has undergone two upgrades (see new release http://www.crop-diversity.org/banana/) and new features should be made available in the coming months, such as links to a molecular database (TropGENE DB), Geographic Information System (GIS) information, data quality control and inter-collection data comparison. (Texte intégral

International exchange of genetic resources, the role of information and implications for ownership: the case of the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System

"Changing perceptions of resource ownership have altered international exchange of genetic resources. After summarizing the role of genebanks and issues related to property regimes, this paper presents an empirical study of one of the largest national genebanks, the U.S. National Germplasm System. The demand for its genetic resources appears to be substantial, both domestically and internationally. Utilization rates are higher than suggested by past studies. The role of information in enhancing the usefulness of NPGS resources is explored with an econometric model that indicates that accompanying data make germplasm more useful. U.S. requestors account for most of the germplasm demanded, but developing countries appear to make greater use of these resources, proportionally, in terms of overall usefulness, secondary sharing, and the presence of useful data. Demand for public germplasm is likely to increase in the future, particularly from developing countries." Authors' AbstractCrop genetic resources, Genebanks, Germplasm collection, Genetic resource management, Developing countries,

The Perceived Impact of the In-Trust Agreements on CGIAR Germplasm Availability: An Assessment of Bioversity International's Institutional Activities

This study assesses the generation and consequences of the In-Trust Agreements (ITAs) that established the legal status of the CGIAR germplasm as freely available for the benefit of humanity under the auspices of FAO. The analysis looks at the history of the ITAs and focuses on the role of Bioversity International in research and other activities in influencing, facilitating and enabling the ITA negotiations. Results confirm the central role of Bioversity and policy research in the negotiations process. Concepts developed during the ITA negotiations contributed toward subsequent multilateral negotiations that eventually culminated in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources

Core reference sets of sorghum and musa : from a whole collection to a mini core collection and back (W291)

The core approach for investigating genetic diversity in a crop germplasm collection has proven merits, among which the possibility to choose a sample of manageable size (e.g. a 'minicore'), so that it can be studied in details, be exchanged among researchers and users and serve as a common reference for integration of data of multiple sources. In turn, studies on a mini core collection can help direct further investigation in the whole collection and target specific compartments for specific purposes. The Generation Challenge Programme is helping various germplasm centers develop genetic stocks to serve as core reference sets for an array of important food crops ; the case of sorghum will be presented as an advanced example. Sorghum reference set has been evaluated under normal and postflowering water stress conditions at ICRISAT. A wide range of variation for agronomic traits, including yield and Fe and Zn have been observed and promising lines selected for use in breeding programmes. The forthcoming possibility to apply massive genotyping to crop germplasm may justify adaptation of scientific strategies, in relation to the biology and the history of the crops. These aspects will be discussed for two contrasting crops, namely sorghum, a diploid, predominantly inbreeding cereal crop with vast germplasm collections, and banana/plantain, a multi-, essentially tri-ploid, vegetatively propagated fruit crop with collections of limited size. (Texte intégral

Mapping adaptation of barley to droughted environments

Identifying barley genomic regions influencing the response of yield and its components to water deficits will aid in our understanding of the genetics of drought tolerance and the development of more drought tolerant cultivars. We assembled a population of 192 genotypes that represented landraces, old, and contemporary cultivars sampling key regions around the Mediterranean basin and the rest of Europe. The population was genotyped with a stratified set of 50 genomic and EST derived molecular markers, 49 of which were Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs), which revealed an underlying population sub-structure that corresponded closely to the geographic regions in which the genotypes were grown. A more dense whole genome scan was generated by using Diversity Array Technology (DArT®) to generate 1130 biallelic markers for the population. The population was grown at two contrasting sites in each of seven Mediterranean countries for harvest 2004 and 2005 and grain yield data collected. Mean yield levels ranged from 0.3 to 6.2 t/ha, with highly significant genetic variation in low-yielding environments. Associations of yield with barley genomic regions were then detected by combining the DArT marker data with the yield data in mixed model analyses for the individual trials, followed by multiple regression of yield on markers to identify a multi-locus subset of significant markers/QTLs. QTLs exhibiting a pre-defined consistency across environments were detected in bins 4, 6, 6 and 7 on barley chromosomes 3H, 4H, 5H and 7H respectivel

Progress of guayule trials in Europe (Spain and France) : early evaluation

The main objectives of the project were to define the potential for cultivation of guayule (#Parthenium Argentatum#) in Southern Europe and to assess the economical justification as an alternative source for natural rubber produced in Europe. The best available subsets of guayule lines from Arizona germplasm were collected from USDA, National germplasm and US Universities (Arizona, Texas). The seeds from the germplasm collection both in France and Spain were used to produce enough guayule plants for local field trials and to settle a guayule collection of selected accessions to produce seeds for European projects. The genetic diversity of 40 guayule imported varieties was tested in two locations: Murcia in Spain, and Montpellier in France. The results showed clear genetic differences. First results showed that Mexican varieties are best adapted to South of Spain. Germination rates of seeds produced by the project varied from 5% to 60% depending on origin, age, line and seeds cleaning. A fertilization and irrigation trial was set-up in Murcia and Montpellier in May 2009. Three levels of irrigation and 3 levels of fertilization were compared using AZ2 seeds as genetic material. In Montpellier, different levels of irrigation did not alter the growth, but less watering reduced the mortality rate. While in Murcia, watering resulted in significantly higher yields. The low rubber content (3.2% in March 2010) and a high mortality of the plants (> 60%) observed in Montpellier after the 2009-2010 winter showed that France is not yet adapted for commercial cultivation of guayule. Rubber content of guayule plants in Murcia (Spain) harvested was 7.4% in March 2010 (for 17-months-old plants). Less than 1% mortality was observed, and the average yields of the irrigation trial was above 10 tons of dry matter (i.e.: 700 kg/ha of rubber) after two years, showing that the area is fully adapted for commercial cultivation of guayule, provided good watering. (Résumé d'auteur

Evaluation of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) germplasm from north-eastern Uganda through a Farmer Participatory Approach

Ugandan farmers grow many landrace sweetpotato varieties, but some of these are relatively low yielding and susceptible to pests. The objective of the present research was to involve farmers in a large-scale assessment of Ugandan farmers’ varieties to rapidly identify those with superior yield performance, pest resistance and consumer acceptance. One hundred sixty distinct farmers’ varieties collected from Lira, Soroti, Katakwi, Kumi and Pallisa Districts of North-eastern Uganda were evaluated in on-station trials. Trials were conducted at two sites (Serere Agricultural and Animal Research Institute and Arapai Agricultural College) in Soroti District in the second rainy season of 1999. Twenty-five farmers from surrounding areas participated in trial harvest at each site. At harvest, fresh storage root yield, foliage yield, and dry matter content were determined by researchers. Farmers observed a number of characteristics and rated each entry with respect to the following variables: general impression, dry matter content, pests, and defects. A strong positive correlation was observed between farmers’ general impression and yield and harvest index in the trials. Farmers selected 10 superior varieties from each trial for further multi-environment, on-station and on-farm trials. Coincidentally, nine of the selected varieties were common to both sites