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

Crop wild relatives – the wild cousins of cultivated plants – are increasingly recognised 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...

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Main Authors: Norton, Sally L., Khoury, Colin K., Sosa, Chrystian C., Castañeda Álvarez, Nora P., Achicanoy Estrella, Harold Armando, Sotelo, Steven
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89435
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author Norton, Sally L.
Khoury, Colin K.
Sosa, Chrystian C.
Castañeda Álvarez, Nora P.
Achicanoy Estrella, Harold Armando
Sotelo, Steven
author_browse Achicanoy Estrella, Harold Armando
Castañeda Álvarez, Nora P.
Khoury, Colin K.
Norton, Sally L.
Sosa, Chrystian C.
Sotelo, Steven
author_facet Norton, Sally L.
Khoury, Colin K.
Sosa, Chrystian C.
Castañeda Álvarez, Nora P.
Achicanoy Estrella, Harold Armando
Sotelo, Steven
author_sort Norton, Sally L.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Crop wild relatives – the wild cousins of cultivated plants – are increasingly recognised 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 analysed 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 north-eastern 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.
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spelling CGSpace894352025-12-02T10:59:51Z Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives Norton, Sally L. Khoury, Colin K. Sosa, Chrystian C. Castañeda Álvarez, Nora P. Achicanoy Estrella, Harold Armando Sotelo, Steven biodiversity biodiversidad climate change adaptation adaptación al cambio climático food security seguridad alimentaria genetic resources recursos genéticos plant breeding fitomejoramiento Crop wild relatives – the wild cousins of cultivated plants – are increasingly recognised 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 analysed 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 north-eastern 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. 2017 2017-11-16T13:27:28Z 2017-11-16T13:27:28Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89435 en Limited Access application/pdf Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Norton, Sally L.; Khoury, Colin K.; Sosa, Chrystian C.; Castañeda-Álvarez, Nora P.; Achicanoy, Harold A.; Sotelo, Steven. 2017. Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives. Australian Journal of Botany. 65(8): 638-645
spellingShingle biodiversity
biodiversidad
climate change adaptation
adaptación al cambio climático
food security
seguridad alimentaria
genetic resources
recursos genéticos
plant breeding
fitomejoramiento
Norton, Sally L.
Khoury, Colin K.
Sosa, Chrystian C.
Castañeda Álvarez, Nora P.
Achicanoy Estrella, Harold Armando
Sotelo, Steven
Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives
title Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives
title_full Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives
title_fullStr Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives
title_full_unstemmed Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives
title_short Priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of Australian crop wild relatives
title_sort priorities for enhancing the ex situ conservation and use of australian crop wild relatives
topic biodiversity
biodiversidad
climate change adaptation
adaptación al cambio climático
food security
seguridad alimentaria
genetic resources
recursos genéticos
plant breeding
fitomejoramiento
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89435
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