Download Fifth Dimension

University of Birmingham
Plant Genetic Resources
conference
2nd June 2016
Genetic Diversity Conservation, Crop
Wild Relatives and Opportunities.
Julian Hosking
What is “Genetic Diversity”?
o Convention on Biological Diversity, UN-FAO, EU and
national definitions.
o Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) (cultivated plant
species), Crop Wild Relatives, & Farm Animal Genetic
Resources (FAnGR) (livestock species & breeds).
o Also Forest, Aquatic, Microbial, Fungal, Algal and
Pollinator/Invertebrate Genetic Resources.
o Links to ‘Wild Biodiversity’ as part of SPECIES
biodiversity, for habitat & landscape mgt., for
ecosystem ‘provisioning’ services, and for economic
& traditional/cultural values (e.g. WHPs).
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Red Ruby Devon cattle
Relevance of components of “Genetic
Diversity”?
• Only 14 of the more than 30 domesticated
mammalian and bird species provide 90% of human
food supply from livestock (principally cattle, pigs,
fowls, sheep, and goats).
• Plants account for over 80% of the human diet.
• 30 000 terrestrial plants are known to be edible.
• 7 000 are cultivated or collected by humans for
food.
• 30 crops feed the world, and 5 cereal crops (rice,
wheat, maize, millet and sorghum) provide 60% of
the energy intake of the world population.
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Why is Genetic Diversity important ?
 Basic needs of Homo sapiens: Food, freshwater,
oxygen, and shelter/clothing; Plus the “securities”.
 Includes all components of biological and genetic
diversity of relevance to food, farming, horticulture,
and woodland management.
 Renewable supplies of food, fibre, other raw
materials, medicines, fuels, draught power, fertiliser,
other energy & ecosystem services, ‘cycling’, etc.
 It is the ‘bridge’ between real farming husbandry and
wild biodiversity conservation/enhancement.
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What are the trends and risks ?
 Relying on ever fewer species, varieties, hybrids,
landraces, and breeds; plus less ‘owners’.
 Globalisation -v- [Re-]Localisation(e.g. IPR, seed, etc).
 Monocultures and specialisation at increasing scales
-v- mixed, rotational & polyculture farming systems.
 Climate change; New plant & animal diseases/pests.
 Market, economic, fiscal, social, human diet,
knowledge, and demographic developments.
 Short term unsustainable intensification -v- Long
term sustainable ecological optimisation.
 Efficiencies of utilisation and ‘zero waste’ objectives.
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White Park cattle
What does “at risk” mean ?
 Numerical scarcity/Lack of ‘minimum viable’ populations/Lack
of ‘effective’ populations, and lack of general abundance.
 Geographic concentration, and specific locational density.
 Inbreeding.
 Introgression (e.g. by ‘outbreeding’ /hybridisation).
 Lack of within-species/variety/breed genetic variation (e.g.
Excessive single trait selection).
 Poor management of populations for multiplication.
 Absence of comprehensive and viable ex situ ‘collections’ of
PGR and FAnGR. (75% PGR diversity lost in last 100 years).
 Inability to adapt to changing climatic or other environmental
conditions (e.g. temperature, salinity, moisture, etc.)
 Going out of commercial use or simply ‘out of fashion’.
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Components of, and policy ‘drivers’
for, Genetic Diversity
 Plant species in arable, horticultural and pastoral systems –
their UK landraces and varieties (e.g. cereals, vegetables, fruit
& nuts, pulses, forage crops); plus their ‘crop wild relatives’.
 9 Major livestock species (Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs,
ponies/horses, poultry x 4) and their UK native breeds.
 Valuation of non-market benefits (e. g. of ecosystem
provisioning and regulating services) and Natural Capital.
 200 UK Native breeds at risk (85%) – e.g. 29/36 cattle breeds.
 13 species of UK top fruit comprising 5,200 varieties.
 England’s biodiversity and ecosystems strategy to 2020 –
Part of Outcome 3 (Species) and a Priority action to conserve
and enhance ‘agricultural’ genetic and species diversity.
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International commitments
Convention on Biological Diversity (‘Aichi’
Targets 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, 13 and 16)
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 Aichi Target 13 :
By 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants & farmed & domesticated
animals & of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as
culturally valuable species, is maintained, & strategies have been developed &
implemented for minimizing genetic erosion & safeguarding their genetic
diversity.
EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020
Action 10: Conserve Europe’s agricultural genetic diversity
The Commission & Member States will encourage the uptake of agrienvironmental measures to support genetic diversity in agriculture & explore
the scope for developing a strategy for the conservation of genetic diversity.
Traditional orchard
Wild ancestors and relatives
 ‘Crop wild relatives’ - many still present (e.g. in the UK, CWRs
of barley, sugar beet, cabbage, radish, asparagus, leek, apple,
pear, etc.). Seed banks rel. less expensive and easier tech.
 For major livestock species – very few left (e.g. Aurochs,
mouflon, bezoar goat, wild boar, red jungle fowl, etc. ).
Germplasm banks rel. expensive and more difficult tech.
 Homo sapiens sapiens (E.g. Primates, Hominidae (great
apes), Homininae, Hominina, Homo erectus, etc.)
 We share 95-99% of our DNA with our closest living
evolutionary relative, the chimpanzees.
 Ancestors and relatives, especially the wild ones, are very
important for our future as a sustained and resilient species –
so look after them while they are still here (!).
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Sea Carrot
CWR Genetic Reserves in England
• The first informal one is now ready to be established
on The Lizard in Cornwall and the first eight would
cover around 95% of all English priority CWR taxa.
•
a). Policy: UK Country Report on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture 2010; Global Strategy for Plant Conservation; European
Strategy for Plant Conservation; CBD Strategic Plan 2011-2020 (Target 13 –
Genetic diversity); EU Biodiversity 2020 Strategy; Defra’s Biodiversity 2020
Strategy for England’s wildlife and ecosystem services.
•
b). Research: NE’s Research Report NERR037 (“Crop Wild Relatives: Plant
conservation for food security”); Research [partly sponsored by NE] carried
out by Dr Hannah Fielder at the University of Birmingham on developing
methodologies for the genetic conservation of UK CWRs (including detailed
studies of CWRs on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, and UK Inventories of
CWR taxa).
CWR GRs: Background information
 There are 148 priority food and forage CWR taxa in
England; 93 of these are present in The Lizard NCA;
59 of these are present within The Lizard NNR.
 Minimum standards for the establishment and
management of CWR Genetic Reserves have been
developed with The University of Birmingham.
Wherever possible, we are aiming to identify at least
five genetically-diverse and geographically-diverse
populations per taxon to be conserved both in situ
and ex situ.
Wild Chives
Genetic Diversity opportunities for NNRs
 Crop Wild Relatives : Potentially the first CWR informal genetic
reserves in the UK – start with The Lizard NNR.
 Native Breeds at Risk (e.g. livestock leasing arrangements for
appropriate cattle, sheep and pony breeds).
 Top fruit Orchard trees : GIS mapping checks pending.
 Parallel ex situ very long term storage facilities are potentially
available (e.g. Millennium Seed Bank/Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
with capacity for regular updating accessions.
 NNRs as in situ genebanks demonstrating unique aspects of Natural
Capital and Ecosystems Services delivery not currently part of the
objectives of other nature reserves (e.g. beyond the conventional
management of standard priority species & habitats).
 Rapid developments in DNA Identification and Genomic analysis.
Wild Garlic
Diversity of control ?
Corporate concentration in the seed sector: Six multinational seed companies (Syngenta, Bayer, Monsanto, BASF,
Dow and DuPont) control 59.8% of commercial seeds and
76.1 % of agrochemicals. [Proposed mergers could soon reduce the
number to four such companies. (Reuters; 19th May 2016).]
 The same 6 [potentially only 4] companies account for at least 76 % of
all private sector R&D in these two sectors.
 Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company and fourth largest
pesticide company, now controls more than one-quarter (27%)
of the commercial seed market.
ETC Group (March 2013)
Ownerships
Who owns the whole plants ?
Who owns the seeds, tissues, other samples ?
Who owns the DNA, genes, etc.?
Who owns the processes of plant breeding ?
What is a genuine ‘invention’ (ref. recent EPO cases) ?
Who owns the data (e.g. genomic) and images ?
What are ‘non-commercial’ uses ?
What are commercial uses ?
What are the rights to ‘harvest’ plants & plant
biological material when using public highways and
other public rights of way, open access, etc. ?
Opportunities to demonstrate wisdom
 Promotion of sustainable land mgt. SYSTEMS.
Equality of priority with other ‘wild’ biodiversity in
site management and a new conservation ‘USP’.
Improved range of measures – E.g. Replicated ex situ
germplasm storage, Conservation breeding and
multiplication prog.s, DNA ‘fingerprinting’, product
traceability (incl. by species, taxon, variety, breed,
cross, individual animal, etc.).
Expand scope of ‘at risk’ criteria, and monitoring.
Payments for ecosystems/environmental services
and conservation of these ‘natural capital resources’.
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Discussion
 Ways to record and integrate genetic diversity with all other
biodiversity? Include in ‘protected areas’ (e.g. SSSIs, SACs,
etc.) and National Nature Reserves and status reporting?
 How to ensure complete and viable inventories of genetic
diversity (in situ & ex situ), and reasonable ‘access’ thereto ?
 Methods of utilising genetic diversity evolution, traditional
local adaptation and selection to increase diversity,
sustainability and resilience?
 Genetic Diversity as a key component of NE’s NNR Strategy &
Conservation Strategy, and Defra’s 25 year Environment Plan.
 Demonstrate how to deliver the 5th dimension of biodiversity
conservation (within–species Genetic Diversity).
Thank you for listening !
CWR GRs: Considerations

Evidence of presence of priority CWR taxa and the genetic diversity within and between
their populations. Seek to cover all plant CWRs of potential use in agriculture, horticulture,
silviculture, etc. (e.g. including all food, forage/fodder, and woody species taxa) – both
native/indigenous and introduced.

Sympathetic land ownerships and management regimes (e.g. specific incorporation in NNR
or other land management plans), including recognition of pollination requirements. Long
term undertakings for in situ CWR conservation management can be delivered on at least
NE, NT, and Wildlife Trust land holdings.

Access for regular monitoring, and the harvesting of seeds and tissues from key
populations (at least every 10 years) and their analysis to record changes in genetic
diversity.

Parallel ex situ very long term storage facilities are available (e.g. Millennium Seed
Bank/Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) with capacity for regular updating accessions.

All taxa will need to be listed in the UK Species Inventory (managed by the Natural History
Museum, London).

Potentially the first CWR Genetic Reserves to meet minimum standards in the world, in
Europe, and certainly the first in the UK.
CWR GRs: Future developments

CWR field identification guides and smartphone ‘Applications’ for all potentially interested
people.

Completion of the sampling from the principal populations and placing these samples in
long-term secure storage in the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place, Sussex.

Link in with the UK National Tree Seed Project to ensure full coverage of CWR tree and
other ‘woody’ species/taxa.

Three-year PhD research studentship to carry out site surveys and genetic analyses for
next four potential CWR Genetic Reserves (i.e. Purbeck, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, and
West Somerset).

Local community involvement, volunteer training, and visitor engagement.

Providing inspirational national and international (especially European) leadership with
regard to the conservation of plant genetic diversity.

Approximately 15 CWR genetic reserves are needed for complete coverage of priority food
and forage CWR taxa in England (already prioritised and mapped in outline).