Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives

Abstract

Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relativesThe International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) believes that open access contributes to its mission of reducing hunger and poverty, and improving human nutrition in the tropics through research aimed at increasing the eco-efficiency of agriculture.CIAT is committed to creating and sharing knowledge and information openly and globally. We do this through collaborative research as well as through the open sharing of our data, tools, and publications. Citation:Norton, Sally L.; Khoury, Colin K.; Sosa, Chrystian C.; Castañeda-Álvarez, Nora P. Abstract. Crop wild relatives -the wild cousins of cultivated plants -are increasingly recognized for their potential to contribute to the productivity, nutritional quality and sustainability of agricultural crops. However, the use of these genetic resources is dependent upon their conservation in genebanks and consequent availability to plant breeders, the status of which has not been comprehensively analyzed in Australia. Such conservation assessments are given urgency by reports of increasing threats to natural populations due to habitat destruction, climate change, and invasive species, among other causes. Here we document Australian wild plants related to important food crops, and outline their priorities for ex situ conservation. Given that no major domesticated food plants originated in the country, Australia's native flora of crop wild relatives is surprisingly rich, including potentially valuable cousins of banana, eggplant, melon, mung bean, pigeonpea, rice, sorghum, sweetpotato, soybean, and yam. Species richness of the wild relatives of major food crops is concentrated in the northern and northeastern tropical regions, in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and Queensland. Geographic priorities for collecting of these taxa for ex situ conservation, due to the limited representation of their populations in genebanks, largely align with areas of high species richness. Proposed dam building and agricultural expansion in northern Australia make conservation action for these species more urgent. We outline key steps needed for enhancing the ex situ conservation of Australia's heritage of major food crop wild relatives, and discuss the critical activities required to increase their use.

Modelled distributions and conservation priorities of wild sorghums (Sorghum Moench)

“…These results generally support the recommendations of Norton et al. (2017) for enhanced ex situ conservation of wild Australian Sorghum taxa.…”

“…Seventeen wild taxa are native to Australia, with 13 being endemic, even though the crop itself was domesticated in Africa (Dillon, Shapter et al., 2007). Despite having a negligible contribution to the domestication of globally important crops (Khoury et al., 2016), Australia's proximity to Asia and the Pacific Islands has engendered a surprising diversity of CWR, including those of sorghum, bananas and rice (Norton et al., 2017). The majority of Australian Sorghum taxa are located in the northern, monsoonal region of the country (Andrew & Mott, 1983; Lazarides et al., 1991), mainly occurring in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.…”

Overcoming interspecific barriers in Sorghum and molecular characterization of the derivatives

“…We selected a few plants based on panicle and plant traits to supplement our ongoing high yield and high biomass breeding programmes. Wild relatives of sorghum are extensively evaluated, characterized and found to be the treasures of useful traits; however, they are less explored for introgression into cultivated gene pool (Norton et al., 2017). Kamala, Sharma, Manohar, Varaprasad, and Bramel (2009), Kamala et al.…”

Seeds at the forefront: synthesis of the inaugural National Seed Science Forum and future directions in Australian seed science

“…A recent analysis of germplasm holdings identifies regions of Australia, particularly the northern tropics of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland, as less well recognised hotspots for collecting seeds of high-priority crop wild relatives (Castañeda-Álvarez et al 2016). In their paper in this issue, Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives, Norton et al (2017) thoroughly analyse the conservation status of crop wild relatives native to Australia, including a gap analysis of collections for 58 high priority taxa. As the authors point out, Australia is home to close relatives of major food crops including rice (Oryza spp.…”

“…), and many others, but most are severely under-represented in gene banks. With the extent of the natural distribution of many of these species yet to be fully defined, Norton et al (2017) map the potential distribution of these taxa, along with a comprehensive ranking and prioritisation to guide future seed collection programs.…”