Phylogenomics, domestication history, and conservation insights for a neglected and underutilized crop: Sechium edule ssp. edule (Cucurbitaceae) and its wild relatives.

Decision letter: Data-driven, participatory characterization of farmer varieties discloses teff breeding potential under current and future climates

ISHS II International Symposium on Underutilized Plant Species: Crops for the Future - Beyond Food Security EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS LEARNED IN THE FRAMEWORK OF A GLOBAL UN EFFORT IN SUPPORT OF NEGLECTED AND UNDERUTILIZED SPECIES

The beginning of what we may call “the NUS movement” can be traced back to the late 1980s, when the influence of the Green Revolution in shaping agricultural development was still very strong. Not surprisingly, until the early 2000s, the neglected and underutilized species (NUS) narrative was still very limited and NUS were receiving hardly any attention from research agencies, media and donors. In the two decades before that, major actors in carrying out NUS research were The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI- now the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT) and the International Centre for Underutilised Crops (ICUC), international agencies that focused initially mostly on the documentation and conservation of the genetic diversity of NUS. Encouraging results from initial NUS projects in the mid-1990s helped attract funds from a number of donors and some important projects of wider international scope were able to be pursued. These efforts created an opportunity to develop strategic approaches, methods, and tools for the use enhancement of NUS, through the focus on pilot species (e.g., minor millets, Andean grains, African leafy vegetables, etc.). Current interest in NUS is the result of a number of factors, among which are the greater awareness of the role played by more diverse diets in bettering peoples’ lives, and the realization that diversification in crop production systems is urgently needed in order to fight the pervasive effects of climate change. Other reasons behind this favourable moment for NUS include calls for producing and consuming locally as a way to reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint, greater attention paid to safeguarding traditional crops and associated practices including food recipes to safeguard our own cultures, the need to turn abandoned marginalized land into productive areas, and the pursuit of opportunities that would help raise the incomes of women, youth and other vulnerable members of society. This chapter offers an account of relevant events and a list of major publications that, in our opinion, have been nurturing the “NUS movement” to date, in some cases playing a pivotal role for NUS use enhancement at both the national and international levels.

The grass genus Urochloa (Brachiaria) sensu lato includes forage crops that are important for beef and dairy industries in tropical and sub-tropical Africa, South America and Oceania/Australia. Economically important species include U. brizantha, U. decumbens, U. humidicola, U. mutica, U. arrecta, U. trichopus, U. mosambicensis and Megathyrsus maximus, all native to the African continent. Perennial growth habits, large, fast growing palatable leaves, intra- and interspecific morphological variability, apomictic reproductive systems and frequent polyploidy are widely shared within the genus. The combination of these traits probably favoured the selection for forage domestication and weediness, but trait emergence across Urochloa cannot be modelled, as a robust phylogenetic assessment of the genus has not been conducted. We aim to produce a phylogeny for Urochloa that includes all important forage species, and identify their closest wild relatives (crop wild relatives). Finally, we will use our phylogeny and available trait data to infer the ancestral states of important forage traits across Urochloa s.l. and model the evolution of forage syndromes across the genus. Using a target enrichment sequencing approach (Angiosperm 353), we inferred a species-level phylogeny for Urochloa s.l., encompassing 54 species (~40 % of the genus) and outgroups. Phylogenies were inferred using a multispecies coalescent model and maximum likelihood method. We determined the phylogenetic placement of agriculturally important species and identified their closest wild relatives, or crop wild relatives, based on well-supported monophyly. Further, we mapped key traits associated with Urochloa forage crops to the species tree and estimated ancestral states for forage traits along branch lengths for continuous traits and at ancestral nodes in discrete traits. Agricultural species belong to five independent clades, including U. brizantha and U. decumbens lying in a previously defined species complex. Crop wild relatives were identified for these clades supporting previous sub-generic groupings in Urochloa based on morphology. Using ancestral trait estimation models, we find that five morphological traits that correlate with forage potential (perennial growth habits, culm height, leaf size, a winged rachis and large seeds) independently evolved in forage clades. Urochloa s.l. is a highly diverse genus that contains numerous species with agricultural potential, including crop wild relatives that are currently underexploited. All forage species and their crop wild relatives naturally occur on the African continent and their conservation across their native distributions is essential. Genomic and phenotypic diversity in forage clade species and their wild relatives need to be better assessed both to develop conservation strategies and to exploit the diversity in the genus for improved sustainability in Urochloa cultivar production.

Greater use of agrobiodiversity and especially neglected and underutilized species (NUS) like amaranth, Bambara groundnut, cassava, fabirama, okra, moringa, Guinea sorrel, or sweet potato can tackle climate change and food insecurity, and build food sovereignty. The role of NUS in policies and strategies in Burkina Faso and Niger has not been studied earlier. This study uses a mixed method where analysis of current policies, an online survey and workshops with stakeholders were combined. It gives an overview on policies on different sectors and helps to explore options for enhancing the efficiency of incentives aimed at promoting the use of NUS. The contribution of the policies and strategies (44 documents of the 96 identified) to the promotion of NUS and agrobiodiversity was analyzed. They generally recognize the importance of agroecological practices and biodiversity, and thus support the promotion of NUS. However, only 17 mention NUS specifically. Some texts refer to gender as a cross-cutting theme and recognize women’s primordial role in a better management of resources. Based on the findings, it is recommended to: (i) include NUS in sectoral policies; (ii) support the marketing and consumption; (iii) consider the best practices implemented in other countries to mainstream NUS in food systems.

Crop wild relatives (CWR) provide a valuable resource for improving crops. They possess desirable traits that confer resilience to various environmental stresses. To fully utilize crop wild relatives in breeding and conservation programs, it is important to understand the genetic basis of their adaptation. Landscape genomics associates environments with genomic variation and allows for examining the genetic basis of adaptation. Our study examined the differences in allele frequency of 15,416 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated through genotyping by sequencing approach among 153 accessions of 15 wild eggplant relatives and two cultivated species from Africa, the principal hotspot of these wild relatives. We also explored the correlation between these variations and the bioclimatic and soil conditions at their collection sites, providing a comprehensive understanding of the genetic signals of environmental adaptation in African wild eggplant. Redundancy analysis (RDA) results showed that the environmental variation explained 6% while the geographical distances among the collection sites explained 15% of the genomic variation in the eggplant wild relative populations when controlling for population structure. Our findings indicate that even though environmental factors are not the main driver of selection in eggplant wild relatives, it is influential in shaping the genomic variation over time. The selected environmental variables and candidate SNPs effectively revealed grouping patterns according to the environmental characteristics of sampling sites. Using four genotype–environment association methods, we detected 396 candidate SNPs (2.5% of the initial SNPs) associated with eight environmental factors. Some of these SNPs signal genes involved in pathways that help adapt to environmental stresses such as drought, heat, cold, salinity, pests, and diseases. These candidate SNPs will be useful for marker‐assisted improvement and characterizing the germplasm of this crop for developing climate‐resilient eggplant varieties. The study provides a model for applying landscape genomics to other crops' wild relatives.

The paper compares horticultural genetic resources collections with genetic resources collections at large, assesses their characteristics, strengths and weaknesses with the aim of identifying specific management requirements to conserve horticultural crop germplasm more efficiently and effectively. To facilitate such a comparison, a historical review of plant genetic resources (PGR) conservation efforts has been made with special reference to the period when conservation approaches and procedures were developed and a global network of base collections was established. A brief historical overview of the conceptual and technical developments of utilizing germplasm is presented. As the use of germplasm is closely related to PGR availability, the paper provides a brief description of the major PGR policy and legal issues, mainly those that impact on access and benefit sharing arrangements. A detailed analysis of the collecting efforts of horticultural crops by the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) as well as of the existing major global horticultural germplasm collections is presented, with a special focus on vegetable crops and The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC). Finally, generic biological aspects and peculiarities of horticultural genetic resources are analyzed in the context of current germplasm management procedures. Genetic diversity considerations of horticultural crops, their frequently localized distribution, current breeding practices and other aspects are being analyzed to see how germplasm collection management practices can be improved. Based on these analyses and reviews, general recommendations have been made and conclusions have been drawn for a more effective and efficient global conservation approach and organization. INTRODUCTION Horticultural crops form an important component of the food basket for human beings. Besides calories, they provide proteins, vitamins and other essential substances. Horticultural crops are very diverse, including vegetables, fruit crops, spices, ornamentals, etc. and they vary greatly from one part of the world to another. At the same time a number of major global horticultural crops have been developed and they are more comparable with the major agricultural crops. Due to the great variation, their predominantly localized importance, the important role of people in developing many of the crops, the variable degree of their improvement, the big differences between crops in their economic importance, and significant biological differences between the crops as well as other aspects that characterize horticultural crops, the challenges to conserve this wealth of genetic resources in a rational manner is a real challenge. This paper hopes to contribute to a more rational and effective conservation approach by reviewing the historical developments of plant genetic resources (PGR) conservation and use, assessing the collecting and conservation activities of horticultural species, critically analyzing the routine genetic resources management activities for horticultural crops, reviewing briefly the prevailing political aspects, before drawing conclusions and making some recommendations. Proc. XXVII IHC-S1 Plant Gen. Resources Ed.-in-Chief: K.E. Hummer Acta Hort. 760, ISHS 2007 34 A Historical Review of PGR Conservation It was only in the 1920s that the first germplasm collections were established, largely driven by breeding efforts and interest and, consequently, resulting in breeding rather than genetic resources collections. Examples of such collections are those at the Vavilov Research Institute VIR at St. Petersburg, Russia; ARS of USDA, USA; the Crop Research Institute IPK in Gatersleben, Germany and others (Scarascia-Mugnozza and Perrino, 2002). The establishment of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in the early 1960s contributed significantly to the Green Revolution through the successful global breeding efforts on the major food crops. The dramatic losses of landraces of these major crops were largely caused by the introduction of high yielding varieties (HYVs) and triggered the systematic collecting of threatened PGR. These collecting efforts were coordinated by the newly founded International Board for Plant Genetic Resources in 1974 and resulted in the establishment of large germplasm collections, especially in the International Agricultural Research centres (IARCs) of the CGIAR. During the 1960s and 1970s there was a strong focus on major food crops, in particular those that produce orthodox seeds like cereals and pulses, and consequently the proposed conservation procedures as well as the research were biased towards these crops. Only during the 1980s was more attention given to “difficult” species, i.e. those that produce recalcitrant or no seeds or species that are vegetatively propagated, and in vitro conservation approaches, including cryopreservation were developed. Since 1977 the so-called Registry of Base Collections was formed and coordinated by IBPGR to conserve the germplasm that was collected with the involvement of IBPGR (Tao et al., 1989). The Registry consists of 49 selected national and international genebanks and it covers approximately 250 genera. Of the 49 institutes, 21 signed agreements with IBPGR for the long-term conservation of vegetable base collections, covering a total of 15 genera. Since the mid 1980s FAO established the International Network of Ex Situ Germplasm Collections as part of the Global System that was formed as an important component of the International Undertaking. This Network still exists and the germplasm maintained consists predominantly of material that is maintained by the CGIAR genebanks. In 1971 the World Vegetable Center AVRDC was established with one of its objectives being to conserve and use genetic resources of its mandate crops (see below). The Centre is loosely associated with CGIAR and only recently developed its new global strategy. During the late 1980s more people oriented approaches were developed and applied in the conservation efforts and broadened governance over the genetic resources programmes was applied which greatly facilitated the inclusion of in situ and on-farm conservation activities as part of national PGR programmes. As part of the responsibilities entrusted to FAO by the Convention on Biological Diversity to resolve the legal status of existing collections and the concept of Farmers’ Rights, FAO and the CGIAR Centres concluded agreements in 1994 that defined the legal status of the collections managed by the IARCs. Through these agreements the designated germplasm accessions were formally placed in the international public domain and the responsibilities of the IARCs defined. More recently, the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) and the Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza (CATIE) concluded similar agreements with FAO. World-wide, approximately 1500 genebanks and germplasm collections have been established over the past 40 years or so and some general observations can be made about them: o Usually, there are poor links between genebanks and users; o Typically, many species are maintained in (national) genebanks; o Neglected and underutilized species (NUS) and of crop wild relatives (CWRs) are poorly represented in the collections and their within-species genetic diversity (GD) is rather limited; o In general, one can observe limited and decreasing budgets, sometimes due to underutilization of the conserved germplasm;

Significance of wild relatives genetic variability in cultivated plants breeding

De novo domestication—the modification of domestication genes in crop wild relatives via genome editing—is an approach for harnessing the beneficial genetic diversity of crop wild relatives. A prerequisite for de novo domestication is phenotyping to identify genetic materials suitable for cultivation in the respective environment. Taxa from the wheat genepool (Triticum aestivum, Triticum durum, Triticum monococcum) are a staple food; these taxa comprise wild relatives of different ploidy levels. The diploid Triticum boeoticum and Triticum urartu and the tetraploid Triticum dicoccoides and Triticum araraticum harbor desirable traits such as high grain quality and abiotic and biotic stress tolerance. Hence, they are candidates for de novo domestication. Here, we grew 111 wild wheats and 38 landraces originating predominantly from the Fertile Crescent and six modern wheat cultivars in a field in Giessen, Germany, to evaluate their environmental adaptability to the central European climate and to identify potential candidates and target traits for de novo domestication. We demonstrate that several wild taxa are suitable for cultivation in the central European environment and that they have distinct characteristics that need to be modified during de novo domestication. The normalized difference vegetation index and the thermal time to heading and flowering indicated excellent adaptability of some wheat wild relatives to central European conditions. The values of yield parameters such as grain weight per plant, number of tillers, and thousand kernel weight were lower in the wild wheats than in the landraces. Therefore, these traits should be targeted for improvement during the de novo domestication of wild wheats.

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are wild species that are more or less genetically related to crops that can be used to introgress useful genes for improvement of productivity, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and quality of cultivated crops. They are important in crop improvement to achieve food security for an increasing population and to overcome the challenges caused by climate change and the new virulence of major diseases and pests. These genetic resources are increasingly threatened in their natural habitats through over-exploitation and land reclamation and degradation. Therefore, their efficient and effective conservation would be taxonomically and genetically valuable and will contribute to maintaining and promoting the sustainability of crop diversity, facilitating agricultural production and supporting the increasing demand for food, feed and natural resources. A checklist of 5780 Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) taxa from North Africa was obtained using the CWR Catalogue for Europe and the Mediterranean (PGR Forum). Of which consists 76% of the flora of North Africa. The checklist contains 5588 (~97%) native taxa and 192 introduced. Families with higher taxa richness are Fabaceae, Asteraceae, and Poaceae. These three families constitute more than 33% of the total taxa included in the checklist. About 9% (502) CWR taxa identified as a priority for conservation in North Africa using four criteria, the economic value of the crop, the relatedness degree of wild relatives to their crop, threat status using IUCN red list assessment, and finally the centre of origin and/or diversity of the crop. Of these, 112 taxa were assigned high, 268 medium and 122 low priorities for effective conservation. Those assessed as threatened using IUCN Red list and national assessment represent approximately 2% (119 taxa) of the CWR in the region. However, 21 taxa are assessed as critically endangered (CR), 53 as endangered (EN), and 45 as vulnerable (VU). Wild relatives of some globally important crops are present, with those related to wheat (Triticum aestivum L. and T. durum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) among the highest priority crops for the North Africa region. Amongst CWR assessed as threatened, only 8 (6.7%) CWR are related to food crops, Avena agadiriana B.R. Baum. et G. Fedak (VU), A. atlantica B.R. Baum et G. Fedak (VU), A. murphyi Ladiz. (EN), Beta macrocarpa Guss. (EN), Olea europaea subsp. maroccana Guss. (VU), Rorippa hayanica Maire (VU) and Aegilops bicornis (Forssk.) Jaub. et Spach (VU). The wild relative of Safflower Carthamus glaucus M. Bieb is restricted to Egypt and Libya and assessed as rare in Egypt. The information available about the conservation and threat status of CWR in North Africa still lags behind, and more investigations are required.

Australia's native grass species contain a diverse array of wild cereal relatives which are adapted to a broader range of environmental conditions than current commercial cereals and may contain novel alleles which have utility in commercial production systems. Characterizing the available variation in endosperm morphology is one of the first steps towards in planta manipulation of endosperm by either the introgression of novel alleles or bioengineering cereal starch and protein. The endosperm of 19 crop wild relatives (CWR) was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mature caryopses were fixed, dehydrated, critical-point dried and then snap fractured transversely through the grain. Wild relatives exhibited similar types of starch granules to that of their respective cultivated species, though in general the wild species retained a greater proportion of the endosperm cell wall at maturity. The two species examined with no closely related cultivated species exhibited a rice-like endosperm. Wild sorghum relatives exhibited an abundance of endosperm variations described as variations in starch granule size, shape and surface morphology, and the distribution of protein bodies. This is particularly important because the grain of Sorghum bicolor has inherently low starch and protein digestibility. These variations within the wild relatives of commercial cereals may provide novel sources of genetic diversity for future grain improvement programmes.

Wading Into the Gene Pool: Progress and Constraints Using Wild Species

One prominent concern about genetically modified crops is the possibility of environmental impacts from the movement of fitness-enhancing traits to wild plant populations. Decisions to deregulate Bt crops in the USA have relied strongly on arguments that these crops will not interbreed with wild relatives in the permitted growing regions. Limited attention therefore has been directed to analyses of the consequences of gene flow. To provide a transparent evaluation process for risks associated with insecticidal transgene escape, we crafted a series of questions designed to guide this aspect of the risk assessment. We then explored the current knowledge base available for answering such risk-related questions for three Bt crops (cotton, rapeseed, and rice). First, we generated a list of wild relatives of these crops. A definitive list of potential transgene recipients is not yet possible for some crops. Sufficient data are not available for some crops to eliminate certain related plant species from consideration of fertile hybrid formation, thus making lists for these crops subject to speculation. Second, we queried the HOSTS database (UK) to obtain a worldwide listing of lepidopteran species that feed on these crops and their wild relatives, and to determine the host range of the larvae. To our knowledge, this list of 502 lepidopteran species is the first such list published for these crops and wild crop relatives. Third, we used a data set maintained by the Canadian Forest Service to assess Bt toxin susceptibility for these lepidopterans. Only 3% of those species have been tested for susceptibility; and the literature suggests that generalizations about susceptibility among taxa are difficult due to the variability within families. Fourth, we consulted the literature to interpret what is known about the ability of lepidopterans to regulate plant fitness or invasiveness. We could not eliminate the possibility of ecological release due to plant resistance against lepidopterans. In fact, there is strong experimental evidence that lepidopteran herbivores do limit the distribution and/or abundances of at least some wild plant species. Neither could we eliminate the possibility that non-target lepidopterans might have important functions in the ecosystem as pollinators or alternate hosts to natural enemies of pest species. This study suggests that crucial data are lacking for the development of a credible scientific basis to confirm or deny environmental risks associated with the escape of Bt transgene constructs to wild relatives. Given the absence of information on the identity, level of susceptibility, and ecological roles of lepidopterans exploiting specific wild relatives of Bt crops, we suggest that new efforts be directed to assessing possible consequences of lepidopteran mortality on resistant wild relatives.

Images clockwise from top: The annual trial garden at Colorado State University (source: Gayle Volk); the corn and maize seed collection at the USDA gene bank in Ames, IA (source: Devin Dotson, U.S. Botanic Garden); and Tunisian wild carrot (Daucus aureus). Source: Colin Khoury. Like a good first date, the “match” that Moreau and her team create could be a step toward a beautiful, lifelong relationship with the natural world. A 2017 Pew Research poll showed that most Americans see science and technology centers as reliable sources of science information (https://pewrsr.ch/2pfmGmJ). Botanical gardens, then, serve as important points of contact between scientists and researchers and the general public. Public outreach was just one of the drivers that encouraged another botanical garden researcher, Ari Novy, to team up with Moreau back in 2015. The pair was looking for a way to marry two worlds: horticulture and agriculture. As Moreau puts it, “A lot of people in agriculture started out in horticulture—people see the fields as quite different…but it's all growing plants.” Novy, an ASA, CSSA, and SSSA member and Director/CEO of the San Diego Botanic Garden, was a key player in finding funding for the Societies and the American Public Garden Association (APGA) to collaborate. Novy brought together researchers and other professionals from both organizations with funding from the USDA-NIFA. The team created a symposium with two primary goals to highlight plant diversity, particularly through crop wild relatives, and to focus on public engagement with emphasis on agriculture education. More than 100 horticulturists, botanical gardens researchers, agriculture scientists, land managers, conservation NGOs, and public outreach professionals gathered for the symposium in Des Moines, IA in April 2019, titled “Celebrating Crop Diversity: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens, and Science.” The three-day event was jam-packed with activities designed to foster connections between researchers and individuals who may not realize how closely their work is connected. “You're meeting people who are all working along a supply chain that have rarely met,” Moreau says. “They're coming together, and they might never even have seen themselves as a part of this larger supply chain.” Moreau passionately describes the way that botanical gardens can conserve valuable biodiversity by collecting and maintaining seeds and growing plants in living collections while breeders and agricultural researchers can test the wild relatives in conjunction with modern crops to develop valuable traits like drought and salinity tolerance, disease and pest resistance, and increased nutrition. The organizers kept the conference small in order to increase networking and connections. “We really imagined a two- or three-day event where the community really coalesced and got to know one another,” Novy says. “That just doesn't happen the same way with 500 or 1,000 people.” The conference featured keynote speakers like Marie Haga, the Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and Gary Nabhan, a nature writer, activist, and ethnobotanist. The group took field trips to the Iowa State University Seed Science Center, the Reiman Gardens, and the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station, part of the National Plant Germplasm System, and one of the largest gene banks in the United States. “There's a lot of people that dabble in crop wild relatives, but there's not a lot of cohesion and connection,” Moreau says. “As a topic, it lends itself very well to agricultural researchers and botanical gardens because there's gaps in terms of having those plants backed up in living collections and seed collections, yet it informs so closely the breeding and agricultural areas.” The symposium was more than just a valuable learning experience: Novy and Moreau collaborated again as guest editors of a special section in the November–December 2019 issue of Crop Science featuring more than 10 articles presented at and inspired by the conference. The special section includes one key article that lays out the future course of action between botanical gardens and agricultural researchers. Top row, l to r: courtesy of Gayle Volk, Davie Hansen, and Beiquan Mou. Center image (apples) courtesy of David Hansen. Images on the bottom row (corn and wheat) courtesy of David Hansen. Both Novy and Moreau emphasize that they wanted this symposium to be more than just a yearly meeting—they want long-term action to come from their collaboration. One of the key outcomes of the symposium was the development of a “Road Map” outlining the steps that both the agriculture and botanic garden communities want to take—in concert with land managers, educators, and others interested in native plant diversity—to increase conservation efforts and awareness of North America's biodiversity, particularly crop wild relatives. The five key priorities, as laid out in the article, “Road Map for the Conservation, Use, and Public Engagement around North America's Crop Wild Relatives” (https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2019.05.0309), are highlighted in the box above. Colin Khoury, a CSSA member and USDA-ARS researcher at the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation in Colorado, was one of the authors of the article. He says it summarizes collective feedback from individuals carefully selected by the authors who represent as many groups as possible that may be interested in native plant conservation and biodiversity in an effort to represent the needs and interests of the people and organizations who attended the symposium and who will be instrumental in carrying out the priorities within the Road Map. Khoury, in his day-to-day research, is heavily involved in the collection and conservation of that genetic diversity. Several common crops have wild relatives native to North America, including chile peppers, squashes and pumpkins, sunflowers, and corn. “We work to try and figure out who the species are, where they live, how well we have them conserved right now, and what we should do about it to fill in the gaps,” Khoury says. Filling in the gaps is not just about collecting a sample or two of a wild species in one area, but includes sampling populations across various regions to conserve a wide range of genetic diversity. Currently, the Wild Chile Botanical Area near Tuscon, AZ is, as Khoury puts it, “one of the only reserves in the United States with explicit prioritization of the conservation of a crop wild relative.” It's this fact that led Khoury to emphasize the importance of education related to crop wild relatives, particularly with land managers. “Increasingly we've been trying to understand their conservation in their natural habitats,” Khoury says. “That is, how many of their populations occur in protected areas like national parks or forests? Do the people who manage those areas know about them or just think they're weeds? My work is not just about the seed bank anymore, it's about talking with other folks like the Forest Service to see if we can think about these species and their conservation in a more integrated sort of way.” Once these plants are conserved both in their natural habitats and as part of gene and seed banks, the next step is to characterize their potentially useful traits so that plant breeders can advance agronomic goals. Crop wild relatives have evolved under trying circumstances—they were not bred to thrive in fields tended by farmers. It is their very lack of breeding that makes them so valuable as genetic resources for breeders looking for heat, drought, or salt tolerance, among other useful traits. “We need more action to add value to these plants—growing them, trying to figure out how drought tolerant they are, and characterizing them for other important traits of the future” Khoury mentions. These characteristics, ideally, will be logged in databases like the USDA's Genetic Resources Information Network (GRIN Global), making that information accessible to plant breeders as they move forward in crossing wild relatives with their associated domesticated crops. In short, that's the ultimate goal of the conference and the Road Map: to inspire agricultural researchers, botanical gardeners, land managers, and other stakeholders to collaborate in efforts to advance conservation of plant diversity to maintain valuable potential lines of research for plant breeders. The “match” made between individuals and the natural world, fostered by talented matchmakers in public outreach at botanical gardens, will hopefully inspire the next generation of agricultural researchers, plant breeders, and conservationists. Read more articles inspired by and presented at the April 2019 symposium in the November–December 2019 issue of Crop Science: https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/cs/tocs/59/6.

Neglected and underutilized species (NUS) are nutrient-dense crops, offering high concentrations of essential nutrients relative to their calorie content. These crops are increasingly explored for their potential to meet global consumption demands while promoting ecosystem biodiversity sustainably. However, their commercialization has been limited by short shelf life and significant postharvest losses. One promising solution is the use of biopolymer edible coatings as an alternative to plastic packaging, which could extend the shelf life of these crops. This review examines research conducted over the past decade on preserving underutilized crops with biopolymer coatings and suggests potential directions for future studies. It covers the sources of biopolymer coatings, their benefits and drawbacks, application methods, and strategies to overcome challenges associated with different biopolymers. While various coating formulations have shown promising results, the commercialization of these coatings for underutilized crops remains limited. The review also identifies key research gaps that must be addressed to bridge this gap.