Occurrence data for priority CWR in South Africa

A dataset of occurrence records for 253 priority plant species in South Africa that are wild relatives of crops (Crop Wild Relatives, CWR). The data was collated from various sources i.e. the Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA), the Threatened Species Programme, the Millenium Seed Bank, iSpot database, TrustDB and the Acocks Database, and from fieldwork conducted by the South African National Biodiversity Institute's researchers. It includes 19,553 records

Diversity of selected toll-like receptor genes in cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and African leopards (Panthera pardus pardus)

The anthropogenic impact on wildlife is ever increasing. With shrinking habitats, wild populations are being pushed to co-exist in proximity to humans leading to an increased threat of infectious diseases. Therefore, understanding the immune system of a species is key to assess its resilience in a changing environment. The innate immune system (IIS) is the body\u27s first line of defense against pathogens. High variability in IIS genes, like toll-like receptor (TLR) genes, appears to be associated with resistance to infectious diseases. However, few studies have investigated diversity in TLR genes in vulnerable species for conservation. Large predators are threatened globally including leopards and cheetahs, both listed as \u27vulnerable\u27 by IUCN. To examine IIS diversity in these sympatric species, we used next-generation-sequencing to compare selected TLR genes in African leopards and cheetahs. Despite differences, both species show some TLR haplotype similarity. Historic cheetahs from all subspecies exhibit greater genetic diversity than modern Southern African cheetahs. The diversity in investigated TLR genes is lower in modern Southern African cheetahs than in African leopards. Compared to historic cheetah data and other subspecies, a more recent population decline might explain the observed genetic impoverishment of TLR genes in modern Southern African cheetahs. However, this may not yet impact the health of this cheetah subspecies

CWR checklist and priority taxa of South Africa

The dataset includes an annotated checklist of 1593 food and fodder crop wild relatives (CWR) existing in South Africa, with taxon information, related crop, distribution and red list status. In a separate sheet are listed 258 CWR that have been prioritized for conservation based on socio-economic value of the related crop, potential for crop improvement, threat status, distribution and occurrence status

PAReTT: a Python package for the Automated Retrieval and management of divergence time data from the TimeTree resource for downstream analyses (Dataset)

Dataset for article by the same title submitted the the Journal of Molecular Evolution