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Expiants of five plant species (Allium cepa, Antirrhinum majus, Brassica campestris. Glycine max, and Nicotiana tabacum) were co-cultivated with three Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains under different conditions to assess the effects of acetosyringone and medium pH on strain virulence. Tumours were incited on all dicotyledonous species by strains N2/73 and A281. The presence of acetosyringone during co-cultivation generally enhanced the virulence of these strains, most markedly N2/73 on A. majus and G. max, and A281 on G. max. Strain Ach5 was virulent only on N. tabacum in the absence of acetosyringone, which, when present, extended the host range to include A. majus. There was evidence to suggest that acetosyringone may suppress virulence in some strain/plant species interactions. Virulence was affected in some cases by medium pH, but there was no general effect across plant species.

This chapter investigates the potential linkages between in situ and ex situ conservation, how ex situ conserved germplasm, particularly of crop wild relatives, might be better used in support of in situ and ecosystem conservation, and how in situ conserved germplasm might be better utilized. Both the complementary nature of in situ and ex situ conservation and the desire to link conserved diversity to use are emphasized in the methodology for plant genetic conservation proposed by Maxted et al. (1997a).

This chapter presents a set of quality standards for the conservation of crop wild relative taxa in genetic reserves (GRs) or areas designated for the active, long-term in situ conservation of wild populations where the primary consideration is to preserve its genetic diversity. The criteria for the establishment of GRs and management considerations to optimize GR efficacy are also discussed.

This chapter summarizes a methodology for establishing a regional catalogue of crops and their wild relatives for the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Catalogue is made available through the web-enabled Crop Wild Relative Information System (CWRIS) (PGR Forum, 2005), which provides access to CWR information to a broad user community, including plant breeders, protected area managers, policy makers, conservationists, taxonomists and the wider public - information that is vital for the sustainable utilization and conservation of CWR. The Catalogue has been created using a systematic approach that can accommodate changes in nomenclature and status, and can be applied at both regional and national levels in any part of the world. In addition to providing an online information resource, the actual Catalogue data can be analysed to provide statistics on the crop and CWR taxa of the region. This chapter provides information on the number of crop and crop wild relative (CWR) taxa in the Euro-Mediterranean region and how many are native and endemic; the number of crop and CWR species present in individual nations and intranational regions; the number of species within and shared by the different crop groups; the number of worldwide crop genera that are found in the region; the major and minor food crops of the world that are native to the Euro-Mediterranean region and those that have wild relatives in the region. The Catalogue data can also be compared with taxon lists from existing conservation initiatives to establish which species are currently conserved and/or have undergone conservation assessment as a step towards the recognition and inclusion of CWR in current conservation programmes - some examples of this are given here.

The European Crop Wild Relative Diversity Assessment and Conservation Forum (PGR Forum) is a Thematic Network funded under the EC Framework 5. It provides a European forum for the assessment of taxonomic and genetic diversity of European crop wild relatives (CWR) and the development of appropriate methodologies for their conservation. A global strategy for CWR conservation and use is presented.

RAPD analysis was employed to assess genetic variation in named cultivars of garlic (Allium sativum L.), and to examine the relationships between cultivated garlic varieties and the wild progenitor Allium longicuspis. Twenty-seven accessions were subjected to RAPD analysis using 26 oligonucleotide primers. Of a total of 292 bands, 63 (21%) were polymorphic. Cluster analysis revealed groupings that in part reflected patterns of morphological variation. All bolting forms (including wild and cultivated) grouped separately from the nonbolting cultivars. A. longicuspis and var. ophioscorodon grouped together, indicating close taxonomic affinity. Based upon relative levels of variation within different groups, we suggest potential relationships within the A. sativum/A. longicuspis complex.