CROP GENETIC RESOURCES - SEEDS AND OTHER PLANT MATERIALS CONSERVED IN GENEBANKS WHERE THEY ARE ACCESSED BY PLANT BREEDERS FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT - ARE A FOUNDATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY. THESE RESOURCES ENHANCE THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR'S CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO CHANGING PRODUCER AND MARKET DEMANDS, AND CAN INCREASE SUSTAINABILITY BY ENABLING PRODUCERS TO REDUCE THEIR DEPENDENCE ON NON-RENEWABLE INPUTS. SOME THE MOST IMPORTANT FORMS OF THESE RESOURCES - TRADITIONAL FARMER VARIETIES (LANDRACES) AND CROP WILD RELATIVES (THE WILD COUSINS OF DOMESTICATED CROPS) - CONTINUE TO EVOLVE IN RESPONSE TO NATURAL AND HUMAN SELECTION ON FARMS AND IN WILD HABITATS, AND THUS REPRESENT IMPORTANT FOUNTS OF USEFUL NEW TRAITS FOR PLANT BREEDERS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE STATUS OF THESE DIVERSE RESOURCES IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD DESPITE DECADES OF WARNINGS THAT THEY MAY BE DISAPPEARING.HOW MUCH DIVERSITY HAS DISAPPEARED FROM FARMS AND WILD HABITATS OVER TIME? SCIENTISTS HAVE STRUGGLED TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION MORE ACCURATELY THAN WITH VERY ROUGH ESTIMATES, THE MOST COMMON BEING THAT 75 PERCENT OF CROP DIVERSITY WAS LOST OVER THE PAST CENTURY. WHAT ARE THE GENETIC RESOURCES THAT ARE OF MOST CONCERN, AND WHERE DO THEY OCCUR? HERE TOO THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNITY HAS NOT YET FOUND CLEAR ANSWERS. THESE PERSISTENT INFORMATION GAPS AFFECT THE ABILITY FOR GENEBANKS TO ASSESS HOW COMPLETE THEIR COLLECTIONS ARE IN COMPARISON TO THE FULL EXTENT OF STANDING CROP DIVERSITY IN FARMERS' FIELDS AND FROM WILD RELATIVE POPULATIONS, TO DETERMINE HOW SIGNIFICANT THEIR ROLES ARE IN MAINTAINING CROP GENETIC VARIATION NOW EXTINCT IN THESE FIELDS AND HABITATS, AND TO PRIORITIZE FURTHER COLLECTING ACTIVITIES BASED ON RELATIVE URGENCY.THIS RESEARCH PROPOSES TO ADDRESS THESE KNOWLEDGE GAPS BY DOCUMENTING HISTORICAL CHANGE IN THE DIVERSITY OF LANDRACES AND WILD RELATIVES OF IMPORTANT CROPS SUCH AS POTATOES AND CORN, BY WAY OF CASE-STUDY COMPARISONS BETWEEN CURRENT OBSERVED DIVERSITY IN THE CENTERS OF ORIGIN OF THESE CROPS AND HISTORICAL BASELINE INFORMATION COMPILED FROM USDA AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC GENEBANK COLLECTIONS. FURTHER, THE RESEARCH WILL ESTABLISH A MODERN DATASET FOR THESE CROPS THAT WILL ENABLE MONITORING OF CHANGES IN THEIR DIVERSITY FROM THE PRESENT INTO THE FUTURE. COMBINED, THE RESEARCH, WHICH CENTRALLY CONNECTS TO THE AFRI FARM BILL PRIORITY AREA ON PLANT HEALTH AND PRODUCTION AND PLANT PRODUCTS, WILL GENERATE IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE GENETIC RESOURCE COLLECTING, CONSERVATION, AND USE. THE PROJECT INCLUDES LEADERSHIP, TRAINING, AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS IN TOOLS AND METHODS, COMMUNICATIONS, TEACHING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, AND GRANT WRITING; ENTAILS INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION; INCORPORATES SUBSTANTIVE EVALUATION PLANS; AND INVOLVES MENTORSHIP FROM ACADEMIC, GOVERNMENTAL, NONPROFIT, INDUSTRY, AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.$21,966
· FY2022 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture