Seed germination of Leersia perrieri (Poaceae), a rare crop wild relative from Madagascar

Madagascar is home to a diversity of aquatic grasses. One of these is a rare rice relative, Leersia perrieri (known as Ahitsiriry or Tsingirifiry in the Malagasy language), which is found in a restricted area around the Mahajanga wetlands. A germination test was carried out on two types of local substrate and a control with randomised selected seeds. Seed germination on the control and clay substrates reached 50% while on the organic substrate germination failed to reach 40% during 22 days of observation. The GLM analysis of the final germination showed significant differences between the three treatments. The germination percentage (GP%) was higher in the control and significantly decreased on the clay and organic substrates. Our results help explains our field observations where L. perrieri tends to form monodominant stands on clay substrate, and dispersed multispecies assemblages with fewer individuals on organic soils. This work will be of direct benefit to our panned conservation activities and eventually germplasm availability for crop improvement research.

The genome of stress tolerant crop wild relative Paspalum vaginatum leads to increased biomass productivity in the crop Zea mays

A number of crop wild relatives can tolerate extreme stressed to a degree outside the range observed in their domesticated relatives. However, it is unclear whether or how the molecular mechanisms employed by these species can be translated to domesticated crops. Paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) is a self-incompatible and multiply stress-tolerant wild relative of maize and sorghum. Here we describe the sequencing and pseudomolecule level assembly of a vegetatively propagated accession of P. vaginatum. Phylogenetic analysis based on 6,151 single-copy syntenic orthologous conserved in 6 related grass species placed paspalum as an outgroup of the maize-sorghum clade demonstrating paspalum as their closest sequenced wild relative. In parallel metabolic experiments, paspalum, but neither maize nor sorghum, exhibited significant increases in trehalose when grown under nutrient-deficit conditions. Inducing trehalose accumulation in maize, imitating the metabolic phenotype of paspalum, resulting in autophagy dependent increases in biomass accumulation.

Re-evaluation and typification of Foeniculum piperitum (Apiaceae), an underknown medicinal plant and crop wild relative

Foeniculum piperitum was described as Anethum piperitum based on plants collected in Sicily, Italy. Currently it is treated either as a synonym of Foeniculum vulgare, or as one of two subspecies within that taxon. Here we show that F. vulgare and F. piperitum are two different, sometimes co-occurring, taxa and that given clear morphological and ecological separation, they should be treated as distinct species. Anethum piperitum is typified. Owing to misapplication of names and wrong synonymizations, the ecology and chorology of F. vulgare and F. piperitum have to be better defined.

Artocarpus bergii (Moraceae), a New Species in the Breadfruit Clade from the Moluccas

Abstract—Artocarpus bergii, named for the late C. C. Berg, is from Halmahera in the Moluccas, and is a close ally of breadfruit (A. altilis). The species resembles the Micronesian A. mariannensis but with generally smaller parts. Because it is known from only a small area and the type locality is a potential mining site, A. bergii is likely of conservation concern, particularly given its status as a crop wild relative.