Genetic Resources

Solanum wild relative species indicate varying ecological resilience to climate change in Benin (West Africa)

Ahuéfa Mauricel Kégbé — 2025-10-03

Crop wild relatives are rich reservoirs of valuable genes for improving crop yields, but they have long been underestimated and neglected. Unfortunately, these resources are severely threatened in their natural habitats due to increasing stress caused by climate change and human disturbance. Recently, these wild species began receiving increasing attention for their effective inventory and sustainable conservation and use for the benefit of humanity. This study investigated the current distribution and forecasted the potential future climate change impact on ten Solanum wild relative species in Benin, assessed the effectiveness of protected areas in maintaining viable populations, and evaluated their conservation status using the International Union for Conservation of Nature Categories and Criteria. We used species distribution models under two socioeconomic pathways SSP370 and SSP585 projecting species ranges for the 2055 and 2085 time horizons. The models demonstrated high accuracy with an average value of the Area Under the Curve and True Skill Statistic of 0.89 and 0.74, respectively. The most suitable areas were located in the Sudano-Guinean and Guineo-Congolian zones of Benin. Furthermore, a significant proportion of these suitable areas is projected to become unsuitable for most wild Solanum species. Surprisingly, most of the identified hotspots were poorly represented within the existing protected area network, which appears insufficient to provide long-term refugia for the species. Nevertheless, new suitable areas were identified outside the current protected zones. Coordinated efforts are urgently needed to sustainably manage the populations of target species to enhance their future persistence in Benin.

Agro-morphological and molecular characterization of Argentine maize (Zea mays L.) landraces of ‘Cristalino Colorado’ race

Raquel Alicia Defacio — 2025-07-17

Despite the high variability of Argentine maize (Zea mays L.) landraces, they are scarcely used by breeders due to the limited knowledge available about the genetic merit of these materials. In this study, we evaluated agro-morphological and molecular traits of 36 landraces of the ‘Cristalino Colorado’ race from Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Fifteen agro-morphological traits and five polymorphic microsatellite markers located on different chromosomes (48 alleles) were used. A principal component analysis was performed using average values of agro-morphological traits across two environments. Molecular markers were subjected to a principal coordinate analysis. A generalized procrustes analysis was used to evaluate agro-morphological and molecular traits together, showing seven groups. Distance between agro-morphological and molecular data had an average value of 0.24 and the range varied between 0.02 (ARZM01017) and 0.45 (ARZM01082). The results show that Argentine landraces of the ‘Cristalino Colorado’ race are a valuable source of new alleles for crop improvement. Studies of this type facilitate the selection of landraces for introduction in genetic breeding programmes and for the establishment of core collections.

The promise of access and benefit-sharing is met through holistic policy reform: Insights from Colombia’s genetic diversity and innovation landscape during COP16

Bob Kreiken — 2025-08-19

To tackle the global biotechnological innovation divide, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are negotiating policies to fairly share the benefits from the use of digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources. The policies aim to transfer money, knowledge and technologies from technology-rich developed to biodiversity-rich developing countries in order to bolster the latter’s capacities to achieve the CBD’s objectives. However, by focusing predominantly on scientific capacities, these policies overlook the complex interactions between various actors, conditions and infrastructures that collectively constitute a country’s innovation capacity. In the first-time application of the National Innovation System approach in this policy context, we identify many factors contributing to an innovation gap in Colombia, the host country of COP16, resulting in barriers to study and valorize biodiversity and in lost opportunities for the country to benefit from new technologies. This analysis calls for consideration of broader policy reforms in access and benefit-sharing (ABS) negotiations, and illustrates how holistic policy interventions are needed in countries that benefit from ABS instruments to effectively use financial, scientific and technological resources. Without such an approach, efforts to enhance benefit-sharing from genetic resources and DSI risk reinforcing inequalities in innovation capacity. Finally, we discuss actions countries could take to use their current resources better, as well as how scientists and companies as users of genetic resources and DSI can pursue mutual interests by tackling innovation bottlenecks.

[Para una versión en español del resumen, por favor consulte los Datos suplementarios]

Ethnography of traditional healers and their indigenous medicinal plants in southern Philippines: Implications for conservation and sustainable use

Bhegie May G. Buay — 2025-09-18

This paper investigates Indigenous medicinal plants, the threats they face and the healing knowledge and profiles of traditional healers in the Sarangani uplands, Southern Philippines. During field and community floral inventories, 39 medicinal plant species were documented, belonging to 18 orders, 20 families, and 31 genera. While this study unveiled diverse utilization of medicinal plants, interviewed healers unfortunately revealed local losses which they attributed to (1) climate change, (2) overharvesting, (3) forest denudation, and (4) the shift to over-the-counter medicines. Additionally, the gradual erosion of healing knowledge was ascribed to (1) Christianization suppressing traditional healing practice, (2) local losses of medicinal plants, (3) shift in culture and lifestyle brought by increasing market integration, (4) reluctance of tribal healers to share healing knowledge, (5) devaluation of Indigenous knowledge by the younger generation, (6) advanced ages of knowledge keepers, and (7) the oral nature of mentoring. Moreover, this paper reports that conservation was accomplished mainly through continuous utilization/cultivation and the judicious collection of medicinal plants. These efforts are, however, grossly insufficient and without complementary in situ and ex situ conservation initiatives, these invaluable genetic treasures will face local extinction. In addition to Sarangani’s medicinal plant losses, the valuable cache of associated traditional knowledge will likewise be lost, resulting in a culturally impoverished and less resilient community. Finally, to foster inclusivity, promote knowledge pluralism, and aid in the preservation of traditional healing knowledge, the involvement of healers in the crafting of a comprehensive healthcare strategy for Southern Philippines is recommended.

Exploring the situation of transboundary breeds in Europe for their effective management and conservation

Eléonore Charvolin — 2025-09-26

Geographical distribution plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of breeding and conservation programmes, especially for livestock breeds with a small population size. Among these, transboundary breeds present unique challenges and opportunities for conservation efforts. This study specifically examines the case of transboundary breeds in Europe and the associated challenges. Population and descriptive data were sourced from the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) to assess their current state of monitoring and management. The analysis revealed that 42% of the 6,460 National Breed Populations reported in Europe are transboundary, with 25% occurring exclusively within the region (Europe). Alarmingly, 85% of European transboundary breeds are classified as ‘at risk’ or have an ‘unknown’ conservation status, a fact that further accentuates the urgent need for improved sustainable management. This paper identifies key data gaps, for instance related to common understanding of concepts used by managers, and proposes improvements to enhance the monitoring, conservation and management of transboundary breeds in Europe.

Phenotypic variability of Smallanthus sonchifolius germplasm of Peru

Angel Esteban Santa Cruz Padilla — 2025-08-18

Smallanthus sonchifolius (yacon) is a functional food native to the South American Andes. Its tuberous root and leaves are the main parts consumed; however, few studies have been carried out on its phenotypic variability. This study aimed to characterize 214 yacon accessions from the Germplasm Bank of the Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA), Peru. Twelve qualitative and seven quantitative variables were used. Accession Y-74 showed the largest leaf dimensions, while Y-28 showed the highest productivity per plant. Multiple correspondence analysis and principal component analysis revealed that the variables propagule color, leaf shape, root pulp color, leaf length and width, root weight per plant, and yield contributed significantly to the discrimination and identification of promising accessions. The geographical grouping of the accessions showed differences between accessions from the north and south of Peru. The qualitative phylogenetic tree showed 12 morphological groups discriminated mainly by leaf morphology and root characteristics, while the dendrogram analysis identified four clusters, with Cluster II standing out with an average yield of 73.5t/ha of tuberous roots. These results are important, as they allowed the identification of promising accessions and useful traits that can contribute to improving productivity and promoting the expansion of yacon cultivation at national and international levels.

Cultivar loss and conservation of genetic resources of the phureja potato (Solanum phureja L., Phureja Group) in Peru

Juan F. Seminario — 2025-07-07

Solanum tuberosum L. Phureja Group, known in Peru as ‘phureja potato’ or ‘chaucha potato’ and as ‘criolla’ in Colombia, is characterized by its earliness and the absence of dormancy in the tubers. It stands out for its nutritional value and its contribution to food security. However, it faces a high risk of disappearance in Peru. This study assessed its current status by collecting historical data, ex situ and in situ conservation analyses, and genetic erosion studies in local communities. Historical information suggests that phureja was relevant and abundant in the past. Currently, ex situ collections include 69 accessions, of which the International Potato Center conserves a significant portion. As for in situ conservation, 116 accessions have been identified. However, since 1992, genetic erosion has been documented in six departments of Peru. The main causes include: lack of time for continuous cultivation, prioritization of dairy farming, low seed quality, preference for more commercial modern or traditional cultivars, and the expansion of mining projects. The critical situation of the phureja potato requires urgent measures to collect new information and evaluate the remaining genetic variability. This assessment is essential to develop conservation and sustainability strategies to ensure its survival and its contribution to Peru's food and cultural well-being.

A fast and effective method to distinguish cultivated fonio species: conservation and evaluation perspectives

Sandrine Causse — 2025-09-29

Plant genetic resources characterization is essential for their conservation and their use in both breeding strategies and adaptation to global change. This is all the more important for species often neglected by research such as fonio. Fonio refers to two indigenous small millets grown in West Africa, white and black fonio (Digitaria exilis and Digitaria iburua, respectively). This research was carried out to develop a simple and reliable method to identify the two cultivated species of fonio in the context of genebank collection. A morphometric analysis was performed on seeds of 98 accessions of D. exilis and 20 accessions of D. iburua. Morphometric characters measured were seed dimensions, shape and colour. We showed that the major delimiting criterion was the seed width and that the seeds of black fonio were wider than those of white fonio. The proposed method, based on seed morphometrics, could be applied systematically in conservation routine to guarantee the accuracy of the passport data in fonio collections, as well as to identify fonio remains for archaeological studies.

A public mid-density genotyping platform for North American Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Dongyan Zhao — 2025-10-08

Genomics-enabled selective animal breeding has become common in recent years, prompting a growing need for diverse genotyping tools that facilitate collaboration among research groups while meeting specific programme needs and objectives. Here, we report the development of a medium-density amplicon panel (DArTag) of 2,950 loci for North American Atlantic salmon. It includes loci distributed across the genome and loci useful for distinguishing the continent-of-origin, parentage, and sex determination. This mid-density panel offers more cost-effective and rapid genotyping capabilities for Atlantic salmon researchers and breeders. The open access provided by this platform facilitates comparisons and enhances data reusability across projects, institutions and countries that use different genomic tools for genotyping. This genotyping panel can make routine genotyping a viable tool for breeding and research programmes.