CWRML: representing crop wild relative conservation and use data in XML

Background Crop wild relatives are wild species that are closely related to crops. They are valuable as potential gene donors for crop improvement and may help to ensure food security for the future. However, they are becoming increasingly threatened in the wild and are inadequately conserved, both in situ and ex situ. Information about the conservation status and utilisation potential of crop wild relatives is diverse and dispersed, and no single agreed standard exists for representing such information; yet, this information is vital to ensure these species are effectively conserved and utilised. The European Community-funded project, European Crop Wild Relative Diversity Assessment and Conservation Forum, determined the minimum information requirements for the conservation and utilisation of crop wild relatives and created the Crop Wild Relative Information System, incorporating an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schema to aid data sharing and exchange. Results Crop Wild Relative Markup Language (CWRML) was developed to represent the data necessary for crop wild relative conservation and ensure that they can be effectively utilised for crop improvement. The schema partitions data into taxon-, site-, and population-specific elements, to allow for integration with other more general conservation biology schemata which may emerge as accepted standards in the future. These elements are composed of sub-elements, which are structured in order to facilitate the use of the schema in a variety of crop wild relative conservation and use contexts. Pre-existing standards for data representation in conservation biology were reviewed and incorporated into the schema as restrictions on element data contents, where appropriate. Conclusion CWRML provides a flexible data communication format for representing in situ and ex situ conservation status of individual taxa as well as their utilisation potential. The development of the schema highlights a number of instances where additional standards-development may be valuable, particularly with regard to the representation of population-specific data and utilisation potential. As crop wild relatives are intrinsically no different to other wild plant species there is potential for the inclusion of CWRML data elements in the emerging standards for representation of biodiversity data

Molecular genetic variation in the African wild rice Oryza longistaminata A. Chev. et Roehr. and its association with environmental variables

Molecular markers, complemented by appropriate Geographical Information System (GIS) software packages are powerful tools in mapping the geographical distribution of genetic variation andassessing its relationship with environmental variables. The objective of the study was therefore to investigate the relationship between genetic diversity and eco-geographic variables using Oryzalongistaminata as a case study. The methodology used was a novel technique that combined hierarchical cluster analysis of both molecular diversity generated using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) and climate data available in a GIS software. The study clearly established that there is a close relationship between genetic diversity and eco-geographic variables. The study also revealed that genetic diversity is a function of annual rainfall, and peak diversity occurs in intermediate rainfall areas reflecting the ‘curvilinear theory’ of clinal relationship between the level of genetic diversity and rainfall. The clear association of genetic diversity with rainfall allows the extrapolation ofthe potential impacts of global warming on diversity when empirical data on predicted climate models, particularly rainfall, are available. This knowledge would therefore be useful in the development ofconservation measures to mitigate the effects of genetic erosion through climate change

Physical properties and radius variations in the HAT-P-5 planetary system from simultaneous four-colour photometry

The radii of giant planets, as measured from transit observations, may vary with wavelength due to Rayleigh scattering or variations in opacity. Such an effect is predicted to be large enough to detect using ground-based observations at multiple wavelengths. We present defocussed photometry of a transit in the HAT-P-5 system, obtained simultaneously through Stromgren u, Gunn g and r, and Johnson I filters. Two more transit events were observed through a Gunn r filter. We detect a substantially larger planetary radius in u, but the effect is greater than predicted using theoretical model atmospheres of gaseous planets. This phenomenon is most likely to be due to systematic errors present in the u-band photometry, stemming from variations in the transparency of Earth's atmosphere at these short wavelengths. We use our data to calculate an improved orbital ephemeris and to refine the measured physical properties of the system. The planet HAT-P-5b has a mass of 1.06 +/- 0.11 +/- 0.01 Mjup and a radius of 1.252 +/- 0.042 +/- 0.008 Rjup (statistical and systematic errors respectively), making it slightly larger than expected according to standard models of coreless gas-giant planets. Its equilibrium temperature of 1517 +/- 29 K is within 60K of that of the extensively-studied planet HD 209458b.Comment: Version 2 corrects the accidental omission of one author in the arXiv metadata. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 9 pages, 4 figures, 7 tables. The properties of HAT-P-5 have been added to the Transiting Extrasolar Planet Catalogue at http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~jkt/tepcat

Resolved Spectroscopy of M Dwarf/L Dwarf Binaries. II. 2MASS J 17072343-0558249AB

We present IRTF SpeX observations of the M/L binary system 2MASS J17072343-0558249. SpeX imaging resolves the system into a 1"01+/-0.17 visual binary in which both components have red near infrared colors. Resolved low-resolution (R~150) 0.8-2.5 micron spectroscopy reveals strong H2O, CO and FeH bands and alkali lines in the spectra of both components, characteristic of late-type M and L dwarfs. A comparison to a sample of late-type field dwarf spectra indicates spectral types M9 and L3. Despite the small proper motion of the system (0"100+/-0"009 yr^{-1}), imaging observations over 2.5 yr provide strong evidence that the two components share common proper motion. Physical association is also likely due to the small spatial volume occupied by the two components (based on spectrophotometric distances estimates of 15+/-1 pc) as compared to the relatively low spatial density of low mass field stars. The projected separation of the system is 15+/-3 AU, similar to other late-type M and L binaries. Assuming a system age of 0.5-5 Gyr, we estimate the masses of the binary components to be 0.072-0.083 and 0.064-0.077 M_sun, with an orbital period of roughly 150-300 yr. While this is nominally too long a baseline for astrometric mass measurements, the proximity and relatively wide angular separation of the 2MASS J1707-0558AB pair makes it an ideal system for studying the M dwarf/L dwarf transition at a fixed age and metallicity

A prioritised inventory of crop wild relatives and wild harvested plants of Tunisia

An inventory of crop wild relatives (CWR) and wild harvested plants (WHP) occurring in Tunisia, based on the integration of the last available floristic checklists, is presented. The taxa were prioritised according to economic value of the related crop, potential for crop improvement, threat status, endemism, inclusion in the ITPGRFA (Annex I) and average annual contributions to dietary energy (kilocalories) per capita per day by applying a scoring system based on 4 priority levels. Of a total of 2912 taxa belonging to the Tunisian Flora, 2504 CWR and/or WHP (86% of the total), from 143 families and 686 genera, were identified, 2445 of which are CWR and 847 are WHP. In detail, 1654 are solely CWR and 59 are WHP only, whereas 788 are both CWR and WHP. The final priority list for active conservation includes 1036 CWR (43% of the total CWR taxa), with 139 taxa rated as high priority, 660 medium priority and 237 low priority. The final priority list for WHP is composed of 344 taxa and includes eight high priority, 254 medium priority and 82 low priority taxa. Our results confirm Tunisia as a hotspot of CWR and WHP diversity in the Mediterranean area. The inventory here proposed provides the basis for the development and implementation of a more targeted national CWR/WHP conservation strategy for Tunisia