Diversity Of Cereals Research Articles

Climate change expected to increase yield of spring cereals and reduce yield of winter cereals in the Western Siberian grain belt

ContextHigher latitude regions are likely to benefit from an extended vegetation period driven by climate change. In this regard, Western Siberia is considered a promising area for cereal crop farming in the near and medium-term future up to 2050. In the southern regions of Western Siberia, spring and winter cereals with different physiology and phenology are cultivated. The spatial resolution of existing estimates of climate change show an impact on cereal crops, however, the resolution remains low, impairing coverage of the diversity of cereals cultivated in Western Siberia. ObjectiveThis study aims to estimate the impact of climate change on the yield of main cereal crops in the Tyumen oblast (Western Siberia, Russia) in the short (2025 – 2030) and medium (2045 – 2050) terms. MethodsThe dataset covered the period from 1990 to 2020 and contained time series data on the yield of cereal crops as well as relevant meteorological parameters (mean air temperature, precipitation, snow cover), all grouped by the 22 municipal districts of the Tyumen oblast. Daily meteorological data were obtained from the CMIP6 model-simulation output and were used to develop random effects linear regression models and to make predictions with optimal models. To assess the impact of climatic parameters on the four key stages of cereal growth (germination, tillering, heading, flowering), a series of random effects linear regression models was developed for each type of cereal crop using six different methods of model building. ResultsThe obtained models predict that the yield of spring grown cereals (barley, oats, spring wheat) would increase by 11.6% ± 1.7% and 10.1% ± 1.7% (mean ± SE), in the short (2025 – 2030) and medium (2045 – 2050) runs as compared to the control period (1990 – 2020). These models predict a decrease in winter grown cereals (rye and winter wheat) yield by 17.1% ± 3.2% in 2025 – 2030 and by 17.7% ± 3.2% in 2045 – 2050. Among the four studied agroecological zones, the largest increase in the yield is predicted in the taiga agroecological zone (up to 84.3% ± 5.5% for barley). ConclusionsCultivation of spring grown cereals adapted to the taiga environment is important for improving grain production rates in Western Siberian regions. SignificanceThis study offers an example of a new bioinformatics-inspired type of analysis that prepares raw biological data for mechanistic modeling. This type of analysis serves to identify the key explanatory variables, paving the way towards spatially resolved multiscale predictive modelling of agroecosystems.

DEVELOPMENT OF ILP MARKERS FOR PFKFB4 AND RAS GENES OF AEGILOPS TAUSCHII

The relevance of this research is determined by the prevalence of cereal crops, particularly common wheat, one of the ancestors of which is Aegilops tauschii. The development of new markers that can be used to study the genetic diversity of cereals is a current issue today. The aim of this study was to develop intron length polymorphism (ILP) markers to investigate the intron length polymorphism of PFKFB4 and RAS genes in Aegilops tauschii, and to assess the potential use of the developed markers for genetic differentiation of Ae. tauschii and Ae. biuncialis. EST sequences were obtained using the NCBI database, and online tools such as CD-HIT, BLAST, and Primer3Plus were employed for primer design. Molecular markers, Aet_ILP_1.1, Aet_ILP_1.2, and Aet_ILP_2, were developed and their efficiency was tested on samples of Ae. tauschii and Ae. biuncialis. Amplified fragments were separated using denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining was performed. The Aet_ILP_1.1 marker differentiated fifteen Ae. biuncialis samples into two groups. The use of the Aet_ILP_1.2 marker revealed additional amplicons in certain Ae. tauschii and Ae. biuncialis samples on electropherograms. The Aet_ILP_2 marker visualized amplicons only in Ae. biuncialis samples. Overall, the results indicate a low level of intraspecific genetic variability in Ae. tauschii using the developed markers, however, they can be effectively utilized for assessing interspecific differentiation between Ae. tauschii and Ae. biuncialis.

Revisiting the link between cereal diversity and production in Ethiopia

AbstractStudies show that cereal diversity positively affects mean yields, suggesting increased crop diversity as a means of increasing production (Di Falco and Chavas 2009, Baumgärtner and Quaas 2010). In practice though, agricultural development has relied on nondiverse systems. Using the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey panel, we revisit this paradox and disentangle the effects of agroecological zones and composition of crop diversity. We find a positive effect of greater cereal diversity on cereal production, but mostly in specific agroecological zones and for households who diversify away from a particular low-productivity crop: teff. These results indicate that the scope of cereal diversity to drive increases in output may be limited. Similar to recent studies of biodiversity—ecosystem function relationships (e.g. Jochum et al. 2020), the results suggest that the composition of diverse systems can be more important than the measured diversity itself. In the case of cereal crops in Ethiopia, differences in the yields of particular cereals in the crop mix explain the diversity effect, rather than diversity alone. Since some combinations of crops add to productivity but others do not, productivity-related crop choice may not guarantee in situ conservation of crop diversity on its own. Alternative conservation solutions may well be needed for that.

Gametocidal Factor Transferred from Aegilops geniculata Roth Can Be Adapted for Large-Scale Chromosome Manipulations in Cereals.

Segregation distorters are curious, evolutionarily selfish genetic elements, which distort Mendelian segregation in their favor at the expense of others. Those agents include gametocidal factors (Gc), which ensure their preferential transmission by triggering damages in cells lacking them via chromosome break induction. Hence, we hypothesized that the gametocidal system can be adapted for chromosome manipulations between Triticum and Secale chromosomes in hexaploid triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack). In this work we studied the little-known gametocidal action of a Gc factor located on Aegilops geniculata Roth chromosome 4Mg. Our results indicate that the initiation of the gametocidal action takes place at anaphase II of meiosis of pollen mother cells. Hence, we induced androgenesis at postmeiotic pollen divisions (via anther cultures) in monosomic 4Mg addition plants of hexaploid triticale (AABBRR) followed by production of doubled haploids, to maintain the chromosome aberrations caused by the gametocidal action. This approach enabled us to obtain a large number of plants with two copies of particular chromosome translocations, which were identified by the use of cytomolecular methods. We obtained 41 doubled haploid triticale lines and 17 of them carried chromosome aberrations that included plants with the following chromosome sets: 40T+Dt2RS+Dt2RL (5 lines), 40T+N2R (1), 38T+D4RS.4BL (3), 38T+D5BS-5BL.5RL (5), and 38T+D7RS.3AL (3). The results show that the application of the Gc mechanism in combination with production of doubled haploid lines provides a sufficiently large population of homozygous doubled haploid individuals with two identical copies of translocation chromosomes. In our opinion, this approach will be a valuable tool for the production of novel plant material, which could be used for gene tracking studies, genetic mapping, and finally to enhance the diversity of cereals.

Changes in crop cultivation during the last five centuries before the Roman conquest: archaeobotanical investigation in the Clermont-Ferrand basin, Massif Central, France

For several decades, a growing number of protohistoric sites in Auvergne (Massif Central, France) - mostly excavated through preventive archaeology - have been subject to the collection of archaeobotanical analysis. This study presents the archaeobotanical results from ten La Tene sites dating from the last five centuries before the Roman conquest. In addition to providing an inventory of taxa, this paper concerns crops and crop cultivation methods. These results are interpreted in a wider context, dealing with crop husbandry, arable farming, storage and consumption practices. The sites are located in the Limagne plain within a fifty kilometre radius around the city of Clermont-Ferrand. A total of 23,579 carpological remains were identified from 163 sediment samples totalizing a volume of 1096 liters. Comparable to other sites in Gaul, the spectrum of cereals and pulses is restricted. Spelt (Triticum spelta), einkorn (Triticum monococcum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) are disappearing or become rare. A better control of agricultural techniques and increased yields are supposed during the ca. five centuries of the La Tene period. Mixed cultivation is hereby replaced by the sowing of monocrops. At the beginning of this period, farming systems are dominated by a polyculture of cereals and pulses. They become more specialized during the last two centuries before the Roman conquest; diversity of cereals and pulses is decreased.

The HEALTHGRAIN Cereal Diversity Screen: Concept, Results, and Prospects

One hundred and fifty bread wheat lines and 50 other lines of small-grain cereals (spelt, durum wheat, Triticum monococcum, Triticum dicoccum, oats, rye, and barley) were selected for diversity in their geographical origin, age, and characteristics. They were grown on a single site in Hungary in 2004-2005, harvested, milled, and analyzed for a range of phytochemicals (tocols, sterols, phenolic acids, folates, alkylresorcinols) and fiber components that are considered to have health benefits. Detailed analyses of these components in the different species are reported in a series of accompanying papers. The present paper discusses the comparative levels of the bioactive components in the different species, showing differences in both ranges and mean amounts. Furthermore, detailed comparisons of the bread wheat lines show that it is possible to identify lines in which high levels of phytochemicals and dietary fiber components are combined with good yield and processing quality. This means that commercially competitive lines with high levels of bioactive components are a realistic goal for plant breeders.

Diet diversity and the risk of squamous cell esophageal cancer

A varied diet may have a favorable role against digestive tract cancers. We analyzed the relationship between diet diversity (i.e. measured by the number of different foods consumed at least once per week) and the risk of esophageal cancer. We considered data from a case-control study conducted between 1992 and 1997 in northern Italy on 304 squamous cell esophageal cancer cases below age 78 years and 743 controls admitted to hospital for acute, nonneoplastic conditions, unrelated to tobacco or alcohol consumption. There was a significant inverse association for total diet diversity: the multivariate odds ratio (OR), adjusted for age, sex, area of residence, education, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking and non-alcohol energy intake was 0.42 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.25-0.71) for subjects in the highest versus those in the lowest quartile of diversity. Inverse relations were also found for diversity within vegetables (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.21-0.55) and fruits (OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.33-0.80). No significant association was found for meat and cereal diversity. These results add epidemiological support to the dietary guidelines recommending a more varied diet, particularly in fruit and vegetables, for esophageal cancer prevention.

Diet diversity and the risk of laryngeal cancer: A case–control study from Italy and Switzerland

Diet diversity (defined as the number of different foods consumed) has been considered an indicator of a healthy diet, and favorably related to the risk of several digestive tract cancers. We analyzed the relation between diet diversity and the risk of laryngeal cancer using data from a case-control study carried out between 1992 and 2000 in Italy and Switzerland. The subjects of the study were 527 patients with histologically confirmed incident cancers of the larynx and 1297 patients admitted for acute, non-neoplastic diseases, unrelated to tobacco or alcohol consumption. Total diversity was computed as the number of different foods (overall and within four food groups, i.e., vegetables, fruit, meat, and cereals) consumed at least once per week. A significant inverse association was observed for vegetable diversity (OR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.28-0.59, for the highest versus the lowest quartile) and fruit diversity (OR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.27-0.59). Conversely, a direct association was found for meat diversity (OR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.11-2.50), while no meaningful association was found for total diet and cereal diversity. The results were consistent across strata of age, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking. This study suggests that a diet not only rich but also varied in fruit and vegetables is related to a decreased risk of laryngeal cancer risk.

Genome evolution of wild cereal diversity and prospects for crop improvement

Genomic and proteomic diversity provide the basis of evolutionary change by natural selection under abiotic and biotic stresses, and the human-driven evolutionary process of domestication by artificial selection. Described here are some of the regional and local genomic and proteomic long-term multidisciplinary studies conducted at the Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Israel, during 1975–2005 (see publications athttp://evolution.haifa.ac.il), involving both wild barley,Hordeum spontaneum, the progenitor of cultivated barley and wild emmer sheat,Triticum dicoccoides, the progenitor of modern tetraploid and hexaploid cultivated wheat. Wild cereals harbour large amounts of as yet untapped adaptive genetic resources for crop improvement (resistances against abiotic and biotic stresses, micronutrient metal deficiencies, storage proteins, amylases and photosynthetic yield, among others). The adaptive genomic diversity of wild cereals, including cryptic beneficial alleles at specific quantitative trait loci ofT. dicoccoidesandH. spontaneumis the best genomic resource to be conservedin situandex situfor utilization by classical and modern biotechnologies, to enrich the genetically impoverished and stress-vulnerable food cultivars, advance crop improvement, and thereby increase and optimize world food production in a second genetic green revolution.