A breeding programme of aromatic vanilla, dating back to 1944, was conducted in Ambohitsara, Antalaha, SAVA (Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemara, Andapa) – Madagascar. Imported, local, wild and cultivated vanillas were used as progenitors and thousands of hybrids were generated. However, this germplasm has not undergone any genetic evaluation, and it appears that these valuable genetic resources have been dispersed or lost after the end of the programme (2000). This study aims to investigate the genetic diversity and structure of rescued genotypes currently held in a local collection in Antalaha. Double digest restriction associated-site (RAD)-seq (ddRAD)-seq protocol was applied, providing 865 million read sequences from 56 accessions. The ddRAD sequences have been deposited to the SRA archive of NCBI. From the data, 23,701 filtered concordant common Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified using the three widely used tools (Stacks, BCFtools, Genome Analysis ToolKit - GATK) for short-read library sequencing. These SNPs were used for germplasm evaluation. Clustering analysis segregated samples into five genetic groups: Vanilla planifolia, Vanilla pompona, hybrid Tsitaitra, Vanille Banane and the phenotype Tsivaky. Our analysis revealed distinct subgroups within V. pompona and Tsitaitra, emphasizing the importance of further characterization to accurately reflect the genetic diversity and facilitate better utilization of these accessions in future research and germplasm management. The presence of private alleles in all groups (from 487 to 2866) indicated that populations were diverging and represented a large gene pool that could be useful for future breeding efforts. The genetic data obtained from this study offers valuable insights into the genetic diversity and structure of the vanilla population, with potential applications in breeding and conservation efforts.

The common dandelion (Taraxacum campylodes G.E.Haglund) is known for its medicinal properties and as a non-toxic, highly nutritious edible plant. Even though the herb is mostly collected in the wild, the food and pharmaceutical industries prefer cultivated plant material. Cultivation offers the possibility to achieve predictable yields, ensure the botanical identity of the plants and products can be certified according to organic or biodynamic standards; therefore the interest in domestication is growing. Due to the scarcity of research on dandelion cultivation in agricultural systems, the current study focused on determining the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of 13 wild populations from Latvia in an organic farming system. Populations collected at Gluda, Priekuli, Mundigciems, Marupe as well as variety TA008 had the highest dry root weight (>100 g per plant) and exceeded the root weight of variety Nouvelle more than two-fold. The highest concentration of chlorogenic acid (CHA) (0.12%) and chicoric acid (CCA) (0.15%) was found in the wild population collected in Turaida. The wild populations from Marupe and Mundigciems had a high average root weight as well as a relatively high CHA and CCA content, making them suitable for commercial growing. The present study examined the feasibility of cultivating wild dandelion populations in an organic farming system. The results revealed a high degree of variation within and between populations; therefore, dandelion wild populations can be used for domestication, breeding and selection of accessions most suitable for the pharmaceutical or food industries.

Planning future directions and adapting approaches for seed improvement in underutilized crops requires the assessment of research activities. We have examined the trends and research activities conducted on seed improvement of underutilized crops. We identified research hotspots based on keywords and prolific research titles mapped across three decades (1990 to 2021). Data were compiled using Google Scholar, Web of Science and Scopus databases, loaded into the bibliometric R-package and viewed via VOSviewers software. In research on seed improvement among underutilized crops (SUC), we have observed 7.2% annual growth in publication and increase in the studies and citations. There were strong research publications with strong research links from studies conducted in USA, Canada, India, Nigeria and China, while South Africa and Egypt were among the African countries with high research studies in SUC. Among underutilized crops with improvement among their seed traits are sorghum, quinoa, Bambara groundnut, amaranth, barley, tef, cowpea and millet. Some of the trending research areas are genetic diversity, seed performance, seed domestication, yield, crop management, water use efficiency, nutritional properties, molecular strategies and genetic analysis tools for seed improvement. There is gradual increase for international collaborations and funding in SUC studies. The current research emphases are on qualitative studies, appropriate methodological procedures and advanced breeding resources to help understand and promote seed improvement among underutilized crops.

The valorization of plant genetic resources and their direct use in local markets can make a significant contribution to the preservation of agrobiodiversity, while also contributing to the sustainability of rural communities. Indeed, plant genetic resources are a precious source of genes, and they represent an important crop heritage for the quality and sensory characteristics that are required by both farmers and consumers. However, an efficient strategy of agrobiodiversity conservation is strictly connected to product marketability and to consumer preferences. In the present study, choice experiments that involved 920 consumers were carried out to determine their willingness to pay for ancient local tomato varieties (landraces) rather than commercial varieties based on their preferences, and to determine how much they valued these products. The results obtained indicate that consumers are willing to pay premium prices for ancient local tomato varieties (an additional €0.90 kg−1), thus demonstrating their increasing attention to sustainable food and the willingness to contribute to agrobiodiversity conservation and enhancement. These results provide the basis for planning strategies and programs to support the cultivation of these landraces and the development of regional and national markets to acknowledge their characteristics, which will considerably increase the effectiveness and efficiency of conservation strategies.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is an important grain legume in tropical and subtropical regions. It requires low resource inputs and has a high nutritional value. Therefore, cowpea can play an important role in the development of agriculture. In southern Mexico, Mayan farmers have conserved and developed cowpea landraces for centuries. Nevertheless, information on their genetic diversity, conservation status and potential use is minimal. To generate information toward sustainable use, management and conservation of this species, we evaluated the genetic diversity and structure of 20 cowpea landraces from southeast Mexico using 10 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) molecular markers. These ISSR markers generated 68 loci with a 67.7% polymorphism rate and average polymorphic information content of 0.36. The results of Bayesian assignation and the UPGMA analysis suggest the formation of two main groups defined by their genetic origin in southeast Mexico. High levels of genetic structure were found with a moderate level of genetic diversity distributed mainly between landraces. Low levels of intra-landrace variability were observed. Two landraces (P5 and P12) from Calakmul resulted in the high levels of genetic diversity. The selected markers were efficient at assessing genetic variability among Mexican cowpea landraces, providing valuable information that can be used in local conservation and participatory breeding programmes.

Rosa x odorata (sect. Chinenses, Rosaceae) is an important species distributed only in Yunnan Province, China. There is an abundance of wild variation within the species. Using 22 germplasm resources collected from the wild, as well as R. chinensis var. spontanea, R. chinensis ‘Old Blush’ and R. lucidissima, this study involved morphological variation analysis, inter-trait correlation analysis, principal component analysis and clustering analysis based on 16 morphological traits. This study identified a high degree of morphological diversity in R. x odorata germplasm resources and the variation coefficients had a distribution range from 18.00 to 184.04%. The flower colour had the highest degree of variation, while leaflet length/width had the lowest degree of variation. Inter-trait correlation analysis revealed that there was an extremely significant positive correlation between leaflet length and leaflet width. There was also a significant positive correlation between the number of petals and duration of blooming, and the L* and a* values of flower colour were significantly negatively correlated. Principal component analysis screened five principal components with the highest cumulative contribution rate (81.679%) to population variance. Among the 16 morphological traits, style length, sepal width, flower diameter, flower colour, leaflet length and leaflet width were important indices that influenced the morphology of R. x odorata. This study offers guidance for the further development and utilization of R. x odorata germplasm resources.

Genetic diversity is a valuable asset for crop improvement. In this study, a total of 50 rice genotypes were screened for salinity tolerance at the reproductive stage using gravel-based hydroponics, soil, controlled mini-field and field methods. Different morpho-agronomic, physiological markers and tolerance indices were used to classify tolerant and susceptible genotypes. Our results showed high genetic variability in response of rice genotypes to salinity using different screening methods. The significant effect (P < 0.01) of salinity include increased Na+ sequestration in the flag leaf, increased unfilled grains (except for the field method) and reduced pollen fertility, total yield, panicle length and the average number of filled grains per panicle. Plant height (except for the soil method) and K+ ion concentration in the flag leaf were not significantly affected by salinity (P > 0.05). Genetic diversity analysis indicated that the germplasm evaluated exhibits moderate diversity (PIC ${\overline{\bf X}}$ = 0.2085). Cluster analysis using single nucleotide polymorphisms showed that the genetic make-up of rice germplasm somehow did not necessarily indicate their over-all tolerance or susceptibility to salinity. This study proved that the controlled mini-field method is the most advantageous among the screening methods while geometric mean productivity, stress tolerance index and yield index are the tolerance indices that can be classified as better predictors of salinity tolerance considering the yield potentials of the genotypes. The genotypes Nona Bokra and Mushkan 41 can be used for breeding in the future through low Na+:K+ ratio while Damodar and Bhura Rata 4-10 for breeding salt-tolerant cultivars with higher yield potentials.

This commentary considers the intellectual property (IP) system from a global environmental law perspective by exploring the extent to which patent-related treaties, such as the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the World Intellectual Property Organization Patent Cooperation Treaty, can facilitate implementation of global environmental standards in the field of biodiversity law. It provides practical guidance to countries that wish to introduce patent disclosure-related mechanisms into their legal systems with a view to mainstreaming instances of global justice, fairness and equity, and raises awareness of the limitations arising from their extant IP obligations. Global environmental law standards have exercised an undeniable influence on the political discourse in international IP policy making in the field of patent disclosure. Still, many patent disclosure requirements that pre-date the Nagoya Protocol apply only to genetic resources the provenance of which is the same country that established the requirement. However, if a country designates its patent or IP office as a compliance checkpoint under the Nagoya Protocol, then the disclosure requirement should encompass at least the genetic resources originating from all countries that are contracting parties to this instrument. This could allow the fulfilment of a core monitoring obligation of the latter, while enabling wider synergies and transparency within the IP system.

This study was conducted to determine the opinions of the farmers producing dry bean landraces (DBL) at the regional level of Turkey (eight provinces). In total, 140 questionnaire forms were filled by DBL producers. The population and then the sample size were determined according to 2016-year-preliminary-study. The capital structures of the farms according to the production types were evaluated using the Five-Capital-Model approach, and differences were tested by parametric and non-parametric statistical methods. The study showed that 37.86% of the DBL producers produce as the home-garden-type while 62.14% of them as the field-type, which is larger than 0.1 ha. While home-garden-type producers majorly produce for their own family needs, commercial ideas and concerns are at the forefront for field-type producers. While field-type producers have higher values in terms of five capitals, home-garden-type producers move within a more traditional way of production. More than half of the producers indicate that they will continue to produce DBL; this ratio is higher in home-garden-type producers. This indication of approximately 25% of both types of producers wherein their children will continue to produce DBL, there is a need for more human labour, efficiency and profitability concerns, production mostly by the elderly population increasing the risk of future depletion in DBL-genetic resources. This calls for more efforts to increase the awareness among the young population on the importance and protection of genetic resources and to make special policies for the protection of genetic resources by policy makers and develop models based on genetic resources.

The local cattle populations belonging to the ‘Brune de l’Atlas’ cattle in Algeria and Morocco are potential resources in terms of genetic diversity and socioeconomic prevalence and their characterization is an essential step in any program designed to conserve genetic diversity. Our objectives were to assess the genetic diversity, the population structure and relationships among four Algerian cattle breeds, the Biskra, Cheurfa, Chelifienne and Guelmoise and of two Moroccan, the Oulmès-Zaër and Tidili by genotyping 50 309 single nucleotide polymorphism in 203 unrelated animals. A low population structure was observed across breeds with pairwise FST values ranging from 0.008 to 0.043, suggesting a high level of gene flow. These data were combined with the available data on cattle populations representative of Europe (EUT), West African taurine (WAT) and zebu (ZEB). Principle Components Analysis was carried out which revealed that the Maghrebin populations are closer to the EUT/ZEB population than to the WAT. Structure analysis confirmed this mixed origin of the Maghrebin cattle populations. We also detected the influence of zebu breeds in Cheurfa and Guelmoise populations. This study provides the first information about genetic diversity within and between Algerian and Moroccan cattle populations and gives a detailed description of their genetic structure and relationships according to their historical origins. This study revealed that several combined effects contributed to shape the genetic diversity of the six Maghrebin populations studied: (i) gene flow among local breeds, (ii) the recent introgression of European breeds in local Algerian breeds and (iii) the traditional management systems. The results of this study will primarily assist policy makers and livestock keepers to make useful decisions for improvement of genetic resources while ensuring the preservation and conservation of local breeds in Algeria and Morocco.

The Greek lentil landrace ‘Eglouvis’ is cultivated continuously at the Lefkada island for more than 400 years. It has great taste, high nutritional value and high market price. In the present study, we used morphological and molecular markers to estimate genetic diversity within the landrace. Morphological analysis was based on characteristics of the seed. Molecular analysis was performed using simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers in a high-resolution melting (HRM) approach. ‘Samos’ and ‘Demetra’, two of the most widely cultivated commercial lentil varieties in Greece, were used for comparisons. Morphological analysis was performed with 584 seeds randomly selected from a lot. Analysis of seed dimensions and colour distributed the samples in different categories and highlighted the phenotypic variability in ‘Eglouvis’ lentil seeds. Genetic variability was estimated from 91 individual DNA samples with 11 SSR markers using HRM analysis. Genotyping was based upon the shape of the melting curves and the difference plots; all polymerase chain reaction products were also run on agarose gels. Genetic distances of individuals and principal coordinates analysis suggested that ‘Eglouvis’ landrace has a unique genetic background that significantly differs from ‘Samos’ and ‘Demetra’ and no overlapping could be detected. Genetic variability within the ‘Eglouvis’ landrace can be considered in targeted breeding programs as a significant phytogenetic resource of lentils in Greece.

To promote the utilization of West and Central African (WCA) genetic resources of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.], this study aimed at agro-morphological characterization of selected accessions from the pearl millet reference collection, established by the Generation Challenge Program and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). A total of 81 accessions were included, comprising 78 landraces originating from 13, predominantly WCA countries and three improved cultivars. All 81 accessions were evaluated together with 18 checks for resistance to the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. in an artificially infested field at one location in Niger. Determined by available seed quantity, 74 accessions were characterized together with seven checks in the rainy season 2009 in field trials under low-input and fertilized conditions in Nigeria, Niger and Mali, respectively. Wide ranges were observed for various traits. Several accessions were identified as sources for specific traits of interest, i.e. long panicles, high-grain density, earliness, Striga resistance and stable yielding across environments. The observed yield inferiority of all Genebank accessions compared with checks may indicate lost adaptation or inbreeding depression due to an insufficient effective population size during multiplication. A principal component analysis revealed an immense diversity but also strong admixture among the tested accessions, i.e. there were no clearly distinct groups. The seed of all genotypes is available from ICRISAT. The online availability of the characterization data is expected to facilitate efficient use of these pearl millet accessions by breeding programmes in WCA and worldwide.

Development of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) synthetics started at CIMMYT-Mexico in 2004, when winter durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) germplasm from Ukraine and Romania was crossed with Aegilops tauschii accessions from the Caspian Sea region. Chromosomes were doubled after pollination and embryo rescue, but chromosome number and cytological validation was not performed. F2 populations were grown in Mexico and were shipped to Turkey in 2008. During 2009–2015, these populations were subjected to rigorous pedigree selection under dry, cold, disease-affected environments of the Central Anatolian Plateau. The wide segregation and partial sterility observed in 2009 gradually decreased and, by 2016, most of the F8 single spike progenies demonstrated good fertility and agronomic performance. Since 2013, lines have been selected from synthetic populations and evaluated at multiple sites. Superior lines were characterized for resistance to leaf, stripe and stem rust, plant height, and reaction to common bunt and soil-borne pathogens. Thousand kernel weight of many lines exceeded 50 g, compared with the check varieties that barely reached 40 g. Threshability of synthetic lines varied from 0 to 95%, demonstrating genetic variation for this important domestication trait. Screening against Hessian fly, sunny pest and Russian wheat aphid identified several resistant genotypes. Both durum and Aegilops parents affected synthetic wheat traits. Several studies are underway to reveal the genetic diversity of synthetic lines and the basis of resistance to diseases and insects. This synthetic germplasm represents a new winter bread wheat parental pool. It is available upon request to interested breeding/research programmes.

Bamboo shoots and leaves are valuable food sources for both humans and livestock. The USDA-ARS NPGS (National Plant Germplasm System) collections hold 93 bamboo species in 20 genera. Total leaf protein, amino acid composition and elemental content for these important genetic resources had never been quantified. Lack of nutrition information hinders germplasm utilization. The above-mentioned nutritional traits were evaluated from these 93 species in this study. Leaf protein content among bamboo species ranged from 8.12 to 16.33% with an average of 12.84%. This average was higher than 9.0% observed for switchgrass leaves, but considerably lower than 32.48% in cassava leaves. For 18 quantified amino acids, there was more than a twofold variation among the samples evaluated. For 12 quantified mineral elements, there was significant variability from the low end (4.2-fold, 2.27–9.52 mg/g calcium; 4.4-fold, 56.17–246.43 µg/g sodium) to the high end (61.5-fold, 17.67–1087.0 µg/g manganese; 40.8-fold, 42.0–1713.5 µg/g aluminium). Due to their variability in leaf nutritive value, bamboo species should be carefully chosen when they are used as a feedstock. The results from this study will be useful for the bamboo industry, producers and consumers.