TRITICEAE: a tribe for food, feed and fun

Triticeae is an important tribe in the grass family, Poaceae. It contains the cereals wheat, rye, triticale, and barley as well as a large number of wild species, some of which are utilized as forage grasses. The tribe combines all kind of biological mechanisms and genetic systems: diploids and polyploids; annuals and perennials, inbreeders and outbreeders, and even apomicts. Due to this large variation Triticeae is an excellent model group for research in genetics, plant breeding, genetic diversity, taxonomy, and speciation in plants. Triticeae is distributed in almost all temperate areas of the world and consists of some 350-450 species (Dewey 1984, West eta/. 1988, Tzvelev 1989). Most genera as defined today are exclusively either annuals or perennials, except the genera Hordeum, Dasypyrum and Secale that include annual as well as perennial species. Of the perennial genera, some are very large like Elymus with ca. 150 species down to the monotypic genera Hordelymus, Peridictyon, and Pascopyrum (Fig. I). Apart from the Triticum/Aegilops group, which contains around 30 species, the other annual genera are small with 1-4 species. In this presentation four major areas of research and development and the current problems will be reviewed: (i) germ plasm; (ii) taxonomy; (iii) phylogeny and relationships; and (iv) breeding aspects

Origin and domestication of cole crops (Brassica oleracea L.): Linguistic and literary considerations

Contrasting hypotheses have been made to locate the area of domestication of Brassica oleracea crops (i.e., cole crops), suggesting either a North Atlantic or a Mediterranean origin. In the absence of archaeological proof, linguistic and literary considerations can offer some insight into this issue. This paper gathers information from the linguistic, literary, and historical points of view that are compatible with the domestication of B. oleracea in the ancient Greek-speaking area of Central and East Mediterranean

Domestication, diversity and use of Brassica oleracea L., based on ancient Greek and Latin texts

The domestication process of Brassica oleracea L. has not been fully clarified, either regarding its initial location or the progenitor species involved. Two alternative hypotheses proposed so far point to either a northwest European or a Mediterranean location. Previous studies to clarify the domestication process focused on linguistic aspects and on the earliest occurrences in ancient literature of words referring to B. oleracea. Those studies are here extended to offer a comprehensive account of literary occurrences of the brassica vegetables in ancient Greek and Latin texts, between the VI century B.C.E. and the IV century C.E. This study offers a contribution to ancient ethnobotanical knowledge in the Mediterranean, including agricultural practices and culinary and medicinal uses. It also defines the time when increasing diversity of crop varieties is documented and it adds weight to the hypothesis of a Mediterranean location of the domestication of B. oleracea

Population structure and phylogeography of Elymus mutabilis and its genetic relationships with E. transbaicalensis (Poaceae)

Elymus mutabilis is a morphologically diverse species in the Poaceae family growing in Eurasia from northern Europe to far east Russia and southwards to central Asia. Elymus transbaicalensis occurs in similar habitats and is considered closely related to E. mutabilis and sometimes even referred to as a subspecies or synonym. Based on high similarity in morphology and habitat, molecular studies are needed to establish whether E. mutabilis and E. transbaicalensis can be considered as two distinct species. Thus, the objective of this study was to study diversity, relationships among populations and the phylogeographical structure of E. mutabilis and E. transbaicalensis using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). In total 68 individuals of E. mutabilis were sampled from 18 populations collected from northern Europe, central Asia and far east Russia, representing the central and two peripheral parts of the natural distribution of the species. The results reveal a clear distinction between E. mutabilis and E. transbaicalensis and no introgression. The phylogeographic structure of E. mutabilis follows the geographical distribution of the species. Populations from northern Europe, southern Siberia and far east Russia together form a clade separated from the peripheral populations in central Asia, indicating a common ancestry of the latter. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a radiation pattern among populations in northern Europe indicating a founding followed by rapid dispersal

Survey and genetic diversity of wild Brassica oleracea L. germplasm on the Atlantic coast of France

Field survey of Brassica oleracea growing in the wild in northwestern French coastal areas and AFLP analysis of their genetic diversity and population structure. This study offered the highest level of detail ever presented about the distribution of wild B. oleracea populations along the French Atlantic coast. Populations analysed showed a low level of genetic differentiation. Traditional varieties commonly grown in the same area were not fully distinguishable from the wild populations on a molecular level. The level of genetic diversity of the wild populations was similar to, or lower than that of the cultivated crops

Hordein variation in the genus Hordeum as recognized by monoclonal antibodies.

Abstract: The composition of the major storage protein, hordein, in wild barley species has been studied by using gel electrophoresis, Coomassie staining, and immunoblot assays. We have shown earlier that it is possible to obtain cross-reaction outside the cultivated barley, with monoclonal antibodies raised against hordeins from the barley cultivar Bomi. These antibodies have now been used to investigate the hordein composition in all species of the Hordeum genus. The results showed that polypeptides similar to the two major hordein groups of cultivated barley, the B- and C-hordeins, are produced in all wild Hordeum species, and that there are both similarities and differences between the two hordein groups. The similarities indicate a common evolutionary origin, while the distinction between B- and C-hordeins in the entire genus clearly shows that the divergence of their coding genes preceded the divergence of the Hordeum species. The presence of the same antigenic site in two different species indicates that they are evolutionarily related. Among the wild species, two rarely occurring sites were exclusively found in H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum and H. bulbosum, which confirms that they are the cultivated barley's closest relatives. Some of the antibodies also gave an extensive reaction pattern with H. murinum, which suggests a fairly close relationship to H vulgare, though not as close as between H. vulgare and H. bulbosum

Measures to promote Nordic plant breeding

Content Summary Background The commission The accomplishment of the commission Presentation of Nordic plant breeding Viewpoints put forward to the investigators Conclusions from the investigation Proposals for measures to promote Nordic plant breeding Sammanfattning Appendice