CIAT Genetic Resources Articles in International Journals

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/80734

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The importance of genotyping within the climate-smart plant breeding value chain – integrative tools for genetic enhancement programs
(Journal Article, 2025-02-06) Garcia-Oliveira, Ana Luisa; Ortiz, Rodomiro; Sarsu, Fatma; Rasmussen, Søren K.; Agre, Paterne; Asfaw, Asrat; Kante, Moctar; Chander, Subhash
The challenges faced by today’s agronomists, plant breeders, and their managers encompass adapting sustainably to climate variability while working with limited budgets. Besides, managers are dealing with a multitude of issues with different organizations working on similar initiatives and projects, leading to a lack of a sustainable impact on smallholder farmers. To transform the current food systems as a more sustainable and resilient model efficient solutions are needed to deliver and convey results. Challenges such as logistics, labour, infrastructure, and equity, must be addressed alongside adapting to increasingly unstable climate conditions which affect the life cycle of transboundary pathogens and pests. In this context, transforming food systems go far beyond just farmers and plant breeders and it requires substantial contributions from industry, global finances, transportation, energy, education, and country developmental sectors including legislators. As a result, a holistic approach is essential for achieving sustainable and resilient food systems to sustain a global population anticipated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. As of 2021, nearly 193 million individuals were affected by food insecurity, 40 million more than in 2020. Meanwhile, the digital world is rapidly advancing with the digital economy estimated at about 20% of the global gross domestic product, suggesting that digital technologies are increasingly accessible even in areas affected by food insecurity. Leveraging these technologies can facilitate the development of climate-smart cultivars that adapt effectively to climate variation, meet consumer preferences, and address human and livestock nutritional needs. Most economically important traits in crops are controlled by multiple loci often with recessive alleles. Considering particularly Africa, this continent has several agro-climatic zones, hence crops need to be adapted to these. Therefore, targeting specific loci using modern tools offers a precise and efficient approach. This review article aims to address how these new technologies can provide a better support to smallholder farmers.
Conservation status of three rare endemic Phaseolus bean (Leguminosae, Phaseoleae) species of Costa Rica
(Journal Article, 2024-09-10) Debouck, Daniel; Chaves Barrantes, Néstor; Araya Villalobos, Rodolfo
We aimed at an inventory of all populations of wild Phaseolus (bean) species in Costa Rica, in relation to future plant breeding. During the field work in 2003–2018, three new and rare bean species (i.e. P. albicarminus , P. angucianae and P. hygrophilus ) were found in different montane forest habitats which originally occupy a small acreage. Field observations, together with satellite images, indicate deforestation due to coffee plantations or pastures. To date only eleven populations of these species are known, distributed along the Talamanca and Fila Cruces mountainous ranges, making them endemic. Their narrow distribution, deforestation affecting the original habitats, and occurrence outside established and enforced protected areas motivate the assessment of their conservation status as ‘Endangered' (EN).
Quantitative detection of cassava common mosaic virus for health certification of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) germplasm using qPCR analysis
(Journal Article, 2024-03-04) Niño-Jimenez, Diana Patricia; López-López, Karina; Cuervo-Ibanez, Maritza
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a crop of global economic and food safety importance, used for human consumption and in various industrial applications. The genebank of the Genetic Resources Program of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT currently holds the world's largest cassava collection, with 5965 in vitro accessions from 28 countries. Managing this extensive collection involves indexing quarantine pathogens as a phytosanitary certification requirement for safely distributing cassava germplasm. The study therefore aimed to optimize a quantitative diagnostic protocol to detect cassava common mosaic virus (CsCMV) using quantitative PCR (qPCR) as a better alternative to other molecular techniques. This was done through designing primers and a probe in the RdRP region of CsCMV, and optimizing the qPCR conditions of the diagnostic protocol using primer concentration assays, and reaction amplification conditions such as volume and reaction time. We also evaluated the qPCR protocol by comparing the results of 140 cassava accession evaluations using three diagnostic methodologies (DAS-ELISA, end-point PCR, and qPCR) for CsCMV. Our protocol established that qPCR technique analysis is ten-times more sensitive in detecting CsCMV compared to end-point PCR, showing a maximum detection level of 77.97 copies/μL of plasmid, with 76 min of reaction time. The comparison allowed us to verify the level of CsCMV detection through the techniques evaluated, concluding that qPCR was more sensitive and allowed the quantification of viral concentration. The optimized qPCR protocol will be used to accelerate diagnostic screening of cassava germplasm for the presence or absence of CsCMV to ensure safe movement and distribution of disease-free germplasm.
Genome sequences and population genomics reveal climatic adaptation and genomic divergence between two closely related sweetgum species
(Journal Article, 2024-02-11) Xu, Wu-Qin; Ren, Chao-Qian; Zhang, Xin-Yi; Comes, Hans-Peter; Liu, Xin-Hong; Li, Yin-Gang; Kettle, Christopher J.; Jalonen, Riina; Gaisberger, Hannes; Ma, Ya-Zhen; Qiu, Ying-Xiong
Understanding the genetic basis of population divergence and adaptation is an important goal in population genetics and evolutionary biology. However, the relative roles of demographic history, gene ﬂow, and/or selective regime in driving genomic divergence, climatic adaptation, and speciation in non-model tree species are not yet fully understood. To address this issue, we generated whole-genome resequencing data of Liquidambar formosana and L. acalycina, which are broadly sympatric but altitudinally segregated in theTertiary relict forests of subtropical China. We integrated genomic and environmental data to investigate the demographic history, genomic divergence, and climatic adaptation of these two sister species. We inferred a scenario of allopatric species divergence during the late Miocene, followed by secondary contact during the Holocene. We identiﬁed multiple genomic islands of elevated divergence that mainly evolved through divergence hitchhiking and recombination rate variation, likely fostered by long-term refugial isolation and recent differential introgression in low-recombination genomic regions. We also found some candidate genes with divergent selection signatures potentially involved in climatic adaptation and reproductive isolation. Our results contribute to a better understanding of how late Tertiary/Quaternary climatic change inﬂuenced speciation, genomic divergence, climatic adaptation, and introgressive hybridization in East Asia’s Tertiary relict ﬂora. In addition, they should facilitate future evolutionary, conservation genomics, and molecular breeding studies in Liquidambar, a genus of important medicinal and ornamental values.
Notes about Phaseolus pallar Molina (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae-Phaseoleae): alas but at best a synonym!
(Journal Article, 2023-05) Debouck, Daniel G.; Nepi, Chiara
A name given by Molina in 1782 and again in 1810 to a new Phaseolus species after a food legume crop grown for millennia mostly in the western part of the Quechua realm in South America refers to that crop (in the text of his essay) as well as to a weed (in his short Latin description), thus raising taxonomical uncertainty. Obviously, a taxonomical epithet cannot refer to two different botanical entities within the same genus. An example of that uncertainty was the naming of a specimen likely of Macroptilium lathyroides collected in northern Colombia and kept in the negative series of Berlin-Dahlem at the Field Museum. That crop spread so widely and fast that it received several names that Molina and a fortiori Philippi should have considered.
Comparative phenomics of root architecture and anatomy in Phaseolus species
(Journal Article, 2022-11) Massas, Anica Sandra F.; Strock, Christopher F.; Schneider, Hannah M.; Debouck, Daniel G.; Brown, Kathleen M.; Lynch, Jonathan P.
Phaseolus species are globally important food security crops. Drought and low soil fertility are primary constraints to Phaseolus production in developing nations. Root phenes have important roles in soil resource capture and plant performance.We profiled root phenotypes in 30 wild and seven domesticated Phaseolus taxa in laboratory and greenhouse environments. Our results reveal that substantial variation for root phenotypes exists among and within Phaseolus taxa, notably for phenes such as basal root number, basal root whorl number, root hair length, root hair density, metaxylem vessel number, and total cross-sectional area. Wild taxa display greater genetic variation for root architecture and anatomy and possess desirable phenotypes that are either not found or are not sufficiently expressed in domesticated accessions. Consequently, wild taxa represent an important resource for breeding programs to improve abiotic stress tolerance. Root phenotypes were also associated with the environment in the region of origin, suggesting that they have adaptive value. We speculate that significant variation in root phenotypes across different Phaseolus species is related to their abiotic stress tolerance and are valuable for breeding programs focused on improving edaphic stress tolerance.
Using phenomics to identify and integrate traits of interest for better-performing common beans: A validation study on an interspecific hybrid and its Acutifolii parents
(Journal Article, 2022-12-08) Conejo Rodriguez, Diego Felipe; Urban, Milan Oldřich; Santaella, Marcela; Gereda, Javier Mauricio; Contreras, Aquiles Darghan; Wenzl, Peter
Evaluations of interspecific hybrids are limited, as classical genebank accession descriptors are semi-subjective, have qualitative traits and show complications when evaluating intermediate accessions. However, descriptors can be quantified using recognized phenomic traits. This digitalization can identify phenomic traits which correspond to the percentage of parental descriptors remaining expressed/visible/measurable in the particular interspecific hybrid. In this study, a line of P. vulgaris, P. acutifolius and P. parvifolius accessions and their crosses were sown in the mesh house according to CIAT seed regeneration procedures.
A simple and efficient method for extracting S. Rolfsii DNA for PCR based diversity studies
(Journal Article, 2018-01-17) Ssekamate, Allan Male; Kato, Fred; Mukankusi, Clare
Present methods of extracting DNA from Sclerotium rolfsii use a lot of hazardous organic chemicals to extract high quality DNA. Extraction of the DNA is further complicated by exopolysaccharides that bind to the DNA making it mucilaginous. We developed a simple and efficient protocol for extracting DNA high quality from S. rolfsii. Our method uses a DNA extraction buffer that contains sodium dodecyl sulphate and proteinase K to inactivate proteins and high salt concentration to precipitate the exopolysaccharides. It uses neither phenol, chloroform nor isoamyl alcohol during the DNA extraction process. It also does not require freeze drying of the mycelia and grinding in liquid nitrogen. Using our method, a sufficient amount of pure (mean A260: A280=1.91 ± 0.001) DNA (mean = 55.57 ± 0.002 ng/µl) was obtained from 100 mg of mycelia. The DNA was amenable to PCR amplification using inter-simple sequence repeat primers and primers targeting the internal transcribed spacer region of S. rolfsii. Our method will be very useful in laboratories that don’t have access to liquid nitrogen and freeze-drying facilities and will be a catalyst for PCR-based phylogenetic studies of this important pathogen of common bean.
Genome analysis and pathobiology of Cassava-Infecting Torradoviruses containing a putative Maf/HAM1 pyrophosphatase domain
(Journal Article, 2022-11-01) Carvajal-Yepes, Mónica; Jiménez Polo, Jenyfer; Belalcázar, John Eiver; Cuásquer, Juan B.; Lozano, Ivan; Olaya, Cristian A.; Cuéllar, Wilmer Jose
Next generation sequencing has been used to identify and characterize the full genome sequence of a cassava-infecting torradovirus, revealing the presence of a Maf/HAM1 domain downstream of the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) domain in RNA1 in all isolates sequenced. A similar domain is also found in unrelated potyvirids infecting Euphorbiaceae hosts in the Americas and cassava in Africa. Even though cassava torrado-like virus (CsTLV) could not be mechanically transmitted to a series of herbaceous hosts, it can be efficiently transmitted by bud graft-inoculation to different cassava landraces. Our bioassays show that CsTLV has a narrow host range. Crystal-like structures of isometric virus-like particles were observed in cells of plants with single infection by CsTLV, and consistently induced chlorotic leaf spots and affected root yields significantly. Moreover, CsTLV infection induces changes in the accumulation of total sugars in storage roots. Field surveys indicated the presence of CsTLV in the main cassava growing regions of Colombia, and the occurrence of two different cassava-infecting torradovirus species. Profiles of small RNAs of 21 to 24 nucleotides in length, derived from CsTLV RNAs targeted by cassava RNA silencing defense mechanisms, are also reported.
Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: A Synopsis of Coordinated National CropWild Relative Seed Collecting Programs across Five Continents
(Journal Article, 2022-07-13) Eastwood, Ruth J.; Tambam, B.B.; Aboagye, L.M.; Akparov, Z.I.; Aladele, S.E.; Allen, R.; Amri, A.; Anglin, Noelle L.; Araya, R.; Arrieta-Espinoza, G.; Asgerov, A.; Awang, K.; Awas, T.; Barata, A.M.; Boateng, S.K.; Magos Brehm, Joana; Breidy, J.; Breman, E.; Brenes Angulo, A.; Burle, M.L.; Castañeda-Álvarez, N.P.; Casimiro, P.; Chaves, N.F.; Clemente, A.S.; Cockel, Christopher P.; Davey, A.; Rosa, L. de la; Debouck, Daniel G.; Dempewolf, H.; Dokmak, H.; Ellis, David; Faruk, A.; Freitas, C.; Galstyan, S.; García, R.M.; Ghimire, K.H.; Guarino, Luigi; Harker, R.; Hope, R.; Humphries, A.W.; Jamora, Nelissa; Jatoi, S.A.; Khutsishvili, M.; Kikodze, D.; Kyratzis, A.C.; León Lobos, P.; Liu, U.; Mainali, R.P.; Mammadov, A.T.; Manrique, N.; Manzella, D.; Mat Ali, M.S.; Medeiros, M.B.; Mérida Guzmán, M.A.; Mikatadze-Pantsulaia, T.; Mohamed, E.T.I.; Monteros Altamirano, Á.; Morales, A.; Müller, J.V.; Mulumba, J.W.; Nersesyan, A.; Nóbrega, H.; Nyamongo, D.O.; Obreza, M.; Okere, A.U.; Orsenigo, S.; Ortega-Klose, F.; Papikyan, A.; Pearce, T.R.; Pinheiro de Carvalho, M.A.A.; Prohens, J.; Rossi, G.; Salas, A.; Singh Shrestha, D.; Siddiqui, S.U.; Smith, P.P.; Sotomayor, D.A.; Tacán, M.; Tapia, C.; Toledo, Á.; Toll, J.; Vu, D.T.; Vu, T.D.; Way, M.J.; Yazbek, M.; Zorrilla, C.; Kilian, Benjamin
The Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change Project set out to improve the diversity, quantity, and accessibility of germplasm collections of crop wild relatives (CWR). Between 2013 and 2018, partners in 25 countries, heirs to the globetrotting legacy of Nikolai Vavilov, undertook seed collecting expeditions targeting CWR of 28 crops of global significance for agriculture. Here, we describe the implementation of the 25 national collecting programs and present the key results. A total of 4587 unique seed samples from at least 355 CWR taxa were collected, conserved ex situ, safety duplicated in national and international genebanks, and made available through the Multilateral System (MLS) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Plant Treaty). Collections of CWR were made for all 28 targeted crops. Potato and eggplant were the most collected genepools, although the greatest number of primary genepool collections were made for rice. Overall, alfalfa, Bambara groundnut, grass pea and wheat were the genepools for which targets were best achieved. Several of the newly collected samples have already been used in pre-breeding programs to adapt crops to future challenges.
Sustainable management of transboundary pests requires holistic and inclusive solutions
(Journal Article, 2022-12) Boddupalli, P.M.; Carvajal-Yepes, Mónica; Kumar, P. Lava; Kawarazuka, Nozomi; Liu, Y.; Mulema, Annet A.; McCutcheon, S.; Ibabao, Xenina
Globalization and changing climates are aggravating the occurrence and impacts of transboundary pests, and driving the emergence of new threats. Most of the low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are not fully prepared in terms of surveillance, diagnostics, and deployment of plant health solutions due to several factors: adequate investment is lacking; knowledge is inadequate; and connections from the local to global, and global to local are insufficient. Effectively countering the current and emerging threats to plant health requires a holistic approach that includes: 1) globally coordinated diagnostic and surveillance systems; 2) epidemiological modelling, risk assessment, forecasting and preparedness for proactive management and containment; and 3) implementation of context-sensitive, eco-friendly, gender-responsive and socially inclusive integrated disease and pest management approaches to reduce the impacts of devastating transboundary pests and diseases. Despite several success stories where major pests and diseases have been brought to control through integrated approaches, further multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary efforts are necessary. Plant health management requires stronger interface between the biophysical and social sciences, and empowerment of local communities. These reflections derive from the proceedings of a webinar on “Transboundary Disease and Pest Management,” organized by CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) on March 3, 2021, in recognition of the United Nations designated International Year of Plant Health.
Direct introgression of untapped diversity into elite wheat lines
(Journal Article, 2021-10-07) Sukhwinder, Singh; Jighly, A.; Sehgal, D.; Burgueño, J.; Joukhadar, R.; Singh, S.K.; Sharma, A.; Vikram, P.; Sansaloni, C.P.; Velu, Govindan; Bhavani, S.; Randhawa, Mandeep S.; Solis-Moya, E.; Singh, S.; Pardo, N.; Arif, M.A.R.; Laghari, K.A.; Basandrai, D.; Shokat, S.; Chaudhary, H.K.; Saeed, N.A.; Basandrai, A.K.; Ledesma-Ramírez, L.; Sohu, V.S.; Imtiaz, Muhammad; Sial, M.A.; Wenzl, Peter; Singh, G.P.; Bains, N.S.
Mutation breeding for heat and drought tolerance in tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray)
(Journal Article, 2021-09-10) Muñoz, Ligia Carmenza; Debouck, Daniel G.; Rivera, Mariela; Muñoz, Jaime E.; Alpala, Deisy; Sarsu, Fatma; Rao, Idupulapati M.
Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) is more heat and drought tolerant than common bean (P. vulgaris L.). Four hundred mutant lines of two tepary accessions (G40068 and G40159) were generated by ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) treatment. In preliminary studies of the M5 mutant lines under abiotic stress, three mutant lines (CMT 38, CMT 109, CMT 187) were selected from six mutated lines based on morpho-physiological traits and superior yield and advanced to the M6 generation. The M6 mutant lines were uniform and genetically stable. These mutant lines and their original (M0) parents were evaluated for heat and drought tolerance under greenhouse conditions. Their performance was evaluated for morpho-physiological attributes, seed yield and yield components. Under high temperature and drought conditions, the CMT 38 mutant (M6 line) and its original tepary (M0) accession (G40068) showed greater values of pod biomass, pod number and 100-seed biomass than the other lines tested. The CMT 109 and CMT 187 mutant lines and their G40159 original accession (M0) also showed the highest value of seed number under high temperature and drought conditions. This suggests that the previous screening performed during the population advancement of these mutant lines, based on morphological traits like growth habit, was not detrimental to the yield variables evaluated here. Under combined heat and drought conditions, different parameters could be incorporated into tepary breeding programmes, as selection criteria to screen genotypes for tolerance to heat and drought stress. These parameters included: chlorophyll (SPAD) readings, seed biomass, 100-seed biomass and seed number because they explain the observed variance in the principal component analysis. Two additional traits (root biomass and stem diameter) were also identified as useful attributes, based on univariate analysis. The mutant lines evaluated here offer potential for further improvement of tepary bean to high temperature and drought.
History and impact of a bean (Phaseolus spp., Leguminosae, Phaseoleae) collection
(Journal Article, 2021-11-08) Debouck, Daniel G.; Santaella, Marcela; Santos, Luıs Guillermo
This work explains the reasons why a bean collection was established in 1973 at the International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) near Palmira in Colombia. It shows the impact of the collection on plant breeding and in agricultural development through the distribution of germplasm to the center’s bean breeding program, to successively ﬁnd resistances to pests and diseases, adaptation to low phosphorus and drought, and more recently higher content of iron and zinc in seeds. The collection was also used to progress knowledge in biological sciences, as shown by a dozen of examples. A reason behind these successes was foresight and focus on diversity per se in the collection. The paper ends with a number of suggestions for the way ahead for the genetic resources conservation and management of these bean crops, and possible take-home lessons for curators in charge of other similar collections.
Extinction risk of Mesoamerican crop wild relatives
(Journal Article, 2021-11) Goettsch, Bárbara; Urquiza-Haas, Tania; Koleff, Patricia; Acevedo Gasman, Francisca; Aguilar-Meléndez, Araceli; Alavez, Valeria; Alejandre Iturbide, Gabriel; Aragón Cuevas, Flavio; Azurdia Pérez, César; Carr, Jamie A.; Castellanos-Morales, Gabriela; Cerén, Gabriel; Contreras Toledo, Aremi R.; Correa Cano, María Eugenia; Cruz Larios, Lino de la; Debouck, Daniel G.; Delgado Salinas, Alfonso; Gómez Ruiz, Emma P.; González Ledesma, Manuel; González Pérez, Enrique; Hernández Apolinar, Mariana; Herrera Cabrera, Braulio E.; Jefferson, Megan; Kell, Shelagh; Lira-Saade, Rafael; Lorea-Hernández, Francisco; Martínez, Mahinda; Mastretta-Yanes, Alicia; Maxted, Nigel; Menjívar, Jenny; Mérida Guzmán, María de los Ángeles; Morales Herrera, Aura J.; Oliveros-Galindo, Oswaldo; Orjuela-R., M. Andrea; Pollock, Caroline M.; Quintana Camargo, Martín; Rodríguez, Aarón; Ruíz Corral, José Ariel; Sánchez González, José de Jesús; Sánchez de la Vega, Guillermo; Superina, Mariella; Tobón Niedfeldt, Wolke; Tognelli, Marcelo F.; Vargas Ponce, Ofelia; Vega, Melania; Wegier, Ana; Zamora Tavares, Pilar; Jenkins, Richard K.B.
Ensuring food security is one of the world's most critical issues as agricultural systems are already being impacted by global change. Crop wild relatives (CWR)—wild plants related to crops—possess genetic variability that can help adapt agriculture to a changing environment and sustainably increase crop yields to meet the food security challenge. Here we report the results of an extinction risk assessment of 224 wild relatives of some of the world's most important crops (i.e. chilli pepper, maize, common bean, avocado, cotton, potato, squash, vanilla and husk tomato) in Mesoamerica—an area of global significance as a centre of crop origin, domestication and of high CWR diversity. We show that 35% of the selected CWR taxa are threatened with extinction according to The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List demonstrates that these valuable genetic resources are under high anthropogenic threat. The dominant threat processes are land use change for agriculture and farming, invasive and other problematic species (e.g. pests, genetically modified organisms) and use of biological resources, including overcollection and logging. The most significant drivers of extinction relate to smallholder agriculture—given its high incidence and ongoing shifts from traditional agriculture to modern practices (e.g. use of herbicides)—smallholder ranching and housing and urban development and introduced genetic material. There is an urgent need to increase knowledge and research around different aspects of CWR. Policies that support in situ and ex situ conservation of CWR and promote sustainable agriculture are pivotal to secure these resources for the benefit of current and future generations.
Phaseolus beans (Leguminosae, Phaseoleae): a checklist and notes on their taxonomy and ecology
(Journal Article, 2021-07) Debouck, Daniel G.
This work presents an updated list of the species belonging to the genus Phaseolus following its definition of 1978; it is the outcome of the study of eighty-six herbaria and forty-one explorations in the field in the period 1978–2019. There are currently eighty-one species, all of them native to the Americas, most of them distributed north of Panama (the genus is a migrant into South America), and half of them being known by very few records. They thrive in warm to mild temperate, seasonally dry, open forest, with rains under favorable temperature, from sea level up to 3,000 m. The recent increase in the number of recognized species is due to the endemic ones; this in combination with few unclassified specimens may indicate that the total number of species is not final yet, and that field work will be rewarding.
CGIAR genebank viability data reveal inconsistencies in seed collection management
(Journal Article, 2021-09) Hay, Fiona R.; Whitehouse, Katherine J.; Ellis, Richard H.; Sackville-Hamilton, N. Ruaraidh; Lusty, Charlotte E.; Ndjiondjop, Marie Noelle; Tia, Daniel; Wenzl, Peter; Santos, Luís Guillermo; Yazbek, Mariana; Azevedo, Vania C.R.; Peerzada, Ovais H.; Abberton, Michael T.; Oyatomi, Olaniyi; Guzman, Flora de; Capilit, Grace; Muchugi, Alice; Kinyanjui, Zakayo
Genebanks underpin global food security, conserving and distributing agrobiodiversity for use in research and breeding. The CGIAR collections include >700,000 seed accessions, held in trust as global public goods. However, the role of genebanks in contributing to global food security can only be realized if collections are effectively managed. Examination of the historical viability monitoring data from seven CGIAR genebanks confirmed that high seed viability was maintained for many decades for the various crops and forage species. However, departures from optimum management procedures were revealed, and there were insufficient data gathered to derive reliable estimates of longevity needed to better forecast regeneration requirements, estimate the size of seed lots that should be stored, and optimize accession monitoring intervals.
In pursuit of a better world: crop improvement and the CGIAR
(Journal Article, 2021-07-10) Kholová, Jana; Urban, Milan Oldřich; Cock, James H.; Arcos, Jairo; Arnaud, Elizabeth; Aytekin, Destan; Azevedo, Vania; Barnes, Andrew P.; Ceccarelli, Salvatore; Chavarriaga, Paul; Cobb, Joshua N.; Connor, David; Cooper, Mark; Debouck, Daniel G.; Ellis, Noel; Fungo, Robert; Grando, Stefania; Hammer, Graeme L.; Hoffer, Julia; Jara, Carlos; Messina, Charlie; Mosquera, Gloria; Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh; Ng, Enghwa; Prager, Steven; Sankaran, Sindhuja; Selvaraj, Michael Gomez; Tardieu, François; Thornton, Philip K.; Valdés, Sylvia; Etten, Jacob van; Wenzl, Peter; Xu, Yunbi; Craufurd, Peter Q.
The CGIAR crop improvement (CI) programs, unlike commercial CI programs, which are mainly geared to profit though meeting farmers’ needs, are charged with meeting multiple objectives with target populations that include both farmers and the community at large. We compiled the opinions from more than thirty experts in the private and public sector on key strategies, methodologies and activities that could the help CGIAR meet the challenges of providing farmers with improved varieties while simultaneously meeting the goals of: (i) nutrition, health, and food security; (ii) poverty reduction, livelihoods, and jobs; (iii) gender equality, youth and inclusion; (iv) climate adaptation and mitigation and (v) environmental health and biodiversity. We review the crop improvement processes starting with crop choice, moving through to breeding objectives, production of potential new varieties, selection and finally adoption by farmers. The importance of multi-disciplinary teams working towards common objectives is stressed as a key factor to success. The role of the distinct disciplines, actors and their interactions throughout the process from crop choice through to adoption by farmers is discussed and illustrated.
Evaluation of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) germplasm under temperate conditions of Kashmir Valley.
(Journal Article, 2011) Sofi, Parvaze; Zargar, M.Y.; Debouck, Daniel G.; Graner, Andreas
Gene flow in Phaseolus beans and its role as a plausible driver of ecological fitness and expansion of cultigens
(Journal Article, 2021-05) Chacón-Sánchez, Maria Isabel; Martínez Castillo, Jaime; Duitama, Jorge; Debouck, Daniel G.
The genus Phaseolus, native to the Americas, is composed of more than eighty wild species, five of which were domesticated in pre-Columbian times. Since the beginning of domestication events in this genus, ample opportunities for gene flow with wild relatives have existed. The present work reviews the extent of gene flow in the genus Phaseolus in primary and secondary areas of domestication with the aim of illustrating how this evolutionary force may have conditioned ecological fitness and the widespread adoption of cultigens. We focus on the biological bases of gene flow in the genus Phaseolus from a spatial and time perspective, the dynamics of wild-weedy-crop complexes in the common bean and the Lima bean, the two most important domesticated species of the genus, and the usefulness of genomic tools to detect inter and intraspecific introgression events. In this review we discuss the reproductive strategies of several Phaseolus species, the factors that may favor outcrossing rates and evidence suggesting that interspecific gene flow may increase ecological fitness of wild populations. We also show that wild-weedy-crop complexes generate genetic diversity over which farmers are able to select and expand their cultigens outside primary areas of domestication. Ultimately, we argue that more studies are needed on the reproductive biology of the genus Phaseolus since for most species breeding systems are largely unknown. We also argue that there is an urgent need to preserve wild-weedy-crop complexes and characterize the genetic diversity generated by them, in particular the genome-wide effects of introgressions and their value for breeding programs. Recent technological advances in genomics, coupled with agronomic characterizations, may make a large contribution.

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