Agrobiotechnology Goes Wild: Ancient Local Varieties as Sources of Bioactives.

Roberto Berni,Gea Guerriero,Claudio Cantini,Marco Romi,Jean-Francois Hausman,Giampiero Cai

doi:10.3390/ijms19082248

Abstract

The identification and use of species that have best adapted to their growth territory is of paramount importance to preserve biodiversity while promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Parameters including resistance to natural conditions (biotic and abiotic risk factors), biomass and fruit productivity, and phytochemical content with nutraceutical potential, could be used as quantitative markers of the adaptability of plants to wild environments characterized by minimal human impact. Ancient varieties, which are plant varieties growing in regional territories and not destined for market distribution, are a source of unique genetic characters derived from many years of adaptation to the original territory. These plants are often more resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, these varieties have a high phytochemical (also known as bioactives) content considered health-beneficial. Notably, the content of these compounds is often lower in commercial cultivars. The use of selected territorial varieties according to the cultivation area represents an opportunity in the agricultural sector in terms of biodiversity preservation, environmental sustainability, and valorization of the final products. Our survey highlights the nutraceutical potential of ancient local varieties and stresses the importance of holistic studies (-omics) to investigate their physiology and secondary metabolism.

Highlights

The 1992 Rio de Janeiro environmental conference defined biodiversity as the “variability of organisms living in terrestrial, marine, and aquatic ecosystems and the biological complexes of which they are a part”
Ancient varieties, which are plant varieties growing in regional territories and not destined for market distribution, are a source of unique genetic characters derived from many years of adaptation to the original territory
Our survey highlights the nutraceutical potential of ancient local varieties and stresses the importance of holistic studies (-omics) to investigate their physiology and secondary metabolism

Summary

Introduction

The 1992 Rio de Janeiro environmental conference defined biodiversity as the “variability of organisms living in terrestrial, marine, and aquatic ecosystems and the biological complexes of which they are a part”. Researchers have analyzed how to obtain the ideotype (i.e., the archetype of the cultivated plant both in terms of vegetative and reproductive growth) of tomato by applying gene editing on a CWR (Solanum galapagense) [18] Both the studies addressing the potential of resistance gene mining and those reporting gene editing strategies highlight the enormous importance of studying and preserving the germplasm of CWRs. Other scientific reports have correlated the availability of different genetic resources and adverse environmental conditions by focusing on climatic events that could negatively affect the agronomical harvests (abiotic stress). As discussed above for CWRs and LRs, meet these requirements: the years of adaptation to the territory have selected these plants Safeguarding these varieties as possible sources of characters involved in the resistance to environmental stress is of fundamental importance. The nutraceutical aspect of autochthonous plants, which is the manifestation of specific genetic traits, is discussed, given their potential use as components of functional foods

Harnessing the Power of Plant Secondary Metabolites

Ancient Native Varieties as a Treasure-Trove of Bioactives

Future Perspectives