Theme 12: Forage Breeding and Genetics
Description
The processes of natural evolution and domestication of temperate forage genetic resources resulted in a build-up of genetic diversity, being remarkable in natural populations of grasses and legumes from Central Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Worldwide utilization of few species caused further increment in intraspecific genetic differentiation, meanwhile landraces became adapted to local agricultural production systems. Highlights are given to the risk of genetic erosion of indigenous grasslands as a consequence of the ecosystem modifications imposed by agriculture, as well as the drastic reduction of intraspecific genetic diversity caused by the process of plant breeding and environmental leveling in modern times. The balance of the ex situ germplasm collections and the genetic status of the main collections are reviewed. The largest collections of the most relevant legumes and grasses are held by Oceania (> 55,000 accessions) and Central Europe (> 31,000 accessions), respectively. In contrast, few attempts to collect and characterize indigenous species well adapted to marginal areas have been perform outside the Mediterranean. There are many potentially useful accessions and natural populations suitable for forage production already stored in gene banks, but financial constraints usually limit germplasm evaluation and characterization. The development of core subsets will optimize efficiency in management and use of collections, encouraging germplasm enhancement and utilization. The stratification strategy to sample useful germplasm for plant breeding and the relevance of geographical factors to classify collections are highlighted.
Citation
Rebuffo, Mónica and Abadie, T., "Genetic Resources for Temperate Areas - Achievements and Perspectives" (2021). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 20.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/19/12/20
Included in
Genetic Resources for Temperate Areas - Achievements and Perspectives
The processes of natural evolution and domestication of temperate forage genetic resources resulted in a build-up of genetic diversity, being remarkable in natural populations of grasses and legumes from Central Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Worldwide utilization of few species caused further increment in intraspecific genetic differentiation, meanwhile landraces became adapted to local agricultural production systems. Highlights are given to the risk of genetic erosion of indigenous grasslands as a consequence of the ecosystem modifications imposed by agriculture, as well as the drastic reduction of intraspecific genetic diversity caused by the process of plant breeding and environmental leveling in modern times. The balance of the ex situ germplasm collections and the genetic status of the main collections are reviewed. The largest collections of the most relevant legumes and grasses are held by Oceania (> 55,000 accessions) and Central Europe (> 31,000 accessions), respectively. In contrast, few attempts to collect and characterize indigenous species well adapted to marginal areas have been perform outside the Mediterranean. There are many potentially useful accessions and natural populations suitable for forage production already stored in gene banks, but financial constraints usually limit germplasm evaluation and characterization. The development of core subsets will optimize efficiency in management and use of collections, encouraging germplasm enhancement and utilization. The stratification strategy to sample useful germplasm for plant breeding and the relevance of geographical factors to classify collections are highlighted.
