Genetic and phenotypic evaluation of european maize landraces as a tool for conservation and valorization of agrobiodiversity

The ECPGR European Evaluation Network (EVA) for Maize involves genebanks, research institutions, and private breeding companies from nine countries focusing on the valorization of maize genetic resources across Europe. This study describes a diverse collection of 626 local landraces and traditional varieties of maize (Zea mays L.) from nine European genebanks, including criteria for selection of the collection and its genetic and phenotypic diversity. High-throughput pool genotyping grouped the landraces into nine genetic groups with a threshold of 0.6 admixture, while 277 accessions were designated admixed and likely to have resulted from previous breeding activities. The grouping correlated well with the geographic origins of the collection, also reflecting the various pathways of introduction of maize to Europe. Phenotypic evaluations of 588 accessions for flowering time and plant architecture in multilocation trials over three years confirmed the great diversity within the collection, although phenotypic clusters only partially correlated with the genetic grouping. The EVA approach promotes conservation of genetic resources and opens an opportunity to increase genetic variability for developing improved varieties and populations for farmers, with better adaptation to specific environments and greater tolerance to various stresses. As such, the EVA maize collection provides valuable sources of diversity for facing climate change due to the varieties’ local adaptation

Polymorphisme enzymatique du chêne sessile (Quercus petraea (Matt) Liebl) en France

Notice présente dans BelInra (https://belinra.inra.fr/gestion/catalog.php?categ=isbd&id=104955)il s'agit d'un type de produit dont les métadonnées ne correspondent pas aux métadonnées attendues dans les autres types de produit : DISSERTATIONPolymorphisme enzymatique du chêne sessile (Quercus petraea (Matt) Liebl) en Franc

What's the news about the European Prunus database?

UMR DAP, équipe AFEF; Prunus Genetic Resources NewsletterInternational audienc

The Prunus european cooperative programme for genetic resources: a networking activity for the european Prunus database and the challenge for european collections

UMR DAP équipe AFEFInternational audienceThe European Prunus database (EPDB) was created under the auspices of IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute) twenty years ago and was first maintained in Sweden. In the nineties, the EPDB was transferred to INRA research centre of Bordeaux and developed to become an interactive database. The accessions incorporated in the database mainly originate from Europe and should have at least passport data and also characterisation data: common (primary) and specific (secondary) descriptors were agreed by the European Prunus Working Group. Public availability is planned at the beginning of 2005 and different queries are under development for the database. With the support of the European Union from 1996 to 1999, a European network on Prunus genetic resources was organised by IPGRI in the context of the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources (ECP/GR). More than 20 countries are involved in the survey of national collections. At present the permanent collections have more than 8 000 accessions for which passport and characterisation data are registered in the EPDB and available via the Internet site of IPGRI. However the web interface to allow direct search is still under development. Concerning European Collections, plans for establishing a Decentralised European Prunus Collection (DEPC) have been established. It is agreed that each country is responsible for its own genetic resources. Not all the material held in national collections is eligible for the DEPC but it concerns essentially original genetic resources responding to the sovereign rights of states over the Prunus European cooperative programme for genetic resources: their natural resources as proposed by the Convention of Biological Diversity originating from the Rio Conference in 1992. Furthermore contacts have been established between the Prunus and Malus/Pyrus Working Groups in order to establish common strategies for stone and pome fruit genetic resources at the European leve

International network on Prunus genetic resources (GEN RES 'EU 061')

International audienc

Identification of adaptation traits to drought in collections of maize landraces from southern Europe and temperate regions

Abstract Breeding maize for drought tolerance is becoming a major challenge in a context of climate changes and restricted irrigation. Gene banks contain underused genetic resources and adaptation traits for drought tolerance may be present in some populations originating from dry regions. We screened, under contrasted water regimes in dry-Mediterranean climate, populations originating from dry cropping zones in Southern Europe, and other populations from temperate regions with a good combining ability for yield and good agronomic features under drought scenarios in a previous study. We evaluated 78 populations for leaf growth, anthesis-silking interval, number of ears per plant, number of kernels per plot, and grain yield in the presence and absence of water stress, in field conditions, over 2 years. Maximum grain yield and the sensitivity of grain yield to water deficit were highly variable. Positive correlations between sensitivity and performance in well-watered conditions were found for yield and number of kernels. Landraces originating from dry regions were generally less sensitive to water stress and had a limited grain yield potential, with variability observed even among accessions from the same survey area. However, some of them had a relatively high yield under stress conditions. During screening for traits associated with the maintenance of grain yield under conditions of water limitation, we identified sources of drought tolerance in breeding populations and landraces from temperate areas as well as in landraces collected in dry regions, indicating large reservoir of native traits in collections for breeding for drought-prone environments