Lecture 4: Recent rapid domestications

Question 1

KIWIFRUIT (ACTINIDIA CHINENSIS)

Answer 1

• Origin in mountains of southwestern China
• Developed commercially in ~1925 (Seeds were brought to New Zealand).
• Commercial varieties lack diversity (90% are a single variety - Hayward).
  Issue: Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae causes large losses. Found in 10% of regions, up to 50% of plants infected. Costs of infection are €20,000/hectare/year in production losses, €50,000/hectare for orchard investment and €15,000/hectare to destroy plants.

Question 2

QUINOA

Answer 2

• Ancient domestication (7000 years). High genetic diversity.
• Adapted to extremely harsh conditions in the high Andes (resilient to frost, drought, and salinity, and to large temperature variations between day and night).
  Issues:
• In countries with rainy summers, pre-harvest sprouting is problematic

(this issue has now been solved)

• Need for extensive processing for saponin removal –makes processing difficult

Question 3

ORPHAN CROPS: an urgency for improvement

Answer 3

examples:
Proso- millet
foxtail millet
Finger millet

*Significant contributions economies of the developing world
* Little research
* Vital crops of smallholder farmers and consumers

see notes for pie chart of the 10 most common crops in Africa many of which are under-researched

Consider how transgenics, QTL’s/GWAS, or genome editing could solve a problem outlined here

^ key to read the papers associated with this lecture.