ContentsBiodiversity for nutritionand health ............................. 1

Towards a regionalconservation strategy forthe Americas ........................ 3

Conserving the wild relativesof crops: a global initiative toconserve species in situ ...... 4

EU food safety legislationhinders entry of biodiversityproducts to the Europeanmarket ................................... 6

Mayan communities con-serve and use nutritiouscrops ..................................... 8

New World FruitsDatabase ............................. 10

DNA banks complementgenetic resourcesconservation ....................... 11

Model to determine geneticdiversity and erosion in thePeruvian Amazon ............... 12

New scholarship for capacitydevelopment links IPGRI,Angola and Brazil ............... 14

IFAR supports scientificexcellence: Characterizationof Musa hybrids to ensureintegrity ............................... 15

Vavilov-Frankel Fellows2005 ..................................... 15

PGR in the Web .................. 17

Readings on PGR ............... 18

Volume 11, Nº 1, English, July 2005

nutrition and healthBiodiversity for

Biodiversity is essential for food security and nutritionand offers key options for sustainable livelihoods. Sinceagriculture began some 12,000 years ago, approximately7000 plant species and several thousand animal specieshave been used for human food. Today, certain traditionaland indigenous communities continue to use 200 or morespecies in their diets but the general global trend hasbeen towards diet simplification, with consequent nega-tive impacts on human food security, nutritional balanceand health.

The world has made great strides in reducing hunger,yet the problem of malnutrition, particularly the hiddenhunger caused by missing micronutrients, constitutes aformidable challenge for the future. Biodiversity has acrucial role to play in mitigating the effects of micronu-trient deficiencies, which are debilitating hundreds ofmillions of people in developing countries, particularlychildren and women. A more diverse diet is one key tocombat this trend and to healthier lives.

A well nourished, healthy workforce is a preconditionfor successful economic and social development, andnutritional status is internationally recognized as a keyindicator of national development. For developing coun-tries, agriculture and its related activities constitute amajor source, and often the main source, of employmentand income. Thus, direct investment in improving the nu-tritional status of rural populations is likely to have a sig-nificant pay off in raising labor productivity and incomes.

Biodiversity, food and nutrition intersect on a number ofkey issues. Biodiversity contributes directly to food secu-rity, nutrition and well being by providing a variety of plantand animal foods from domesticated and wild sources.

2

Newsletter for the AmericasVolume 11, Nº 1, English,

July 2005

The Newsletter for the Ame-ricas is published by the IPGRIAmericas Group. It highlightsactivities on plant genetic re-sources conducted by IPGRI andits partners in the region. It is alsopublished in Spanish as Boletínde las Américas. Its contents maybe reproduced giving due credit tothe source.

For contributions and furtherinformation, please contactMargarita Baena, Editor, News-letter for the Americas, IPGRIAmericas Group, AA 6713, Cali,Colombia. Phone: (57-2) 445-0048/9; Fax: (57-2) 445-0096;Email: ciat-ipgri@ cgiar.org; Webaddress: http://www.ipgri.org.

The International Plant GeneticResources Institute (IPGRI) is anautonomous international scien-tific organization that seeks toimprove the wellbeing of presentand future generations of peopleby enhancing conservation andthe deployment of agriculturalbiodiversity on farms and inforests. IPGRI is one of 15 FutureHarvest Centres supported by theConsultative Group on Inter-national Agricultural Research(CGIAR) and operates throughfour programmes: Diversity forLivelihoods, Understanding andManaging Biodiversity, GlobalPartnerships, and ImprovingLivelihoods in Commodity-basedSystems. The international statusof IPGRI is conferred under anEstablishment Agreement signedby 49 countries.

Biodiversity can also serve as a safety net to vulnerable house-holds during times of crisis, present income opportunities to therural poor and sustain productive agricultural ecosystems.

In order to develop a world initiative linking biodiversity, foodand nutrition, the Secretariat to the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations (FAO) and IPGRI recently forged a partnership to pro-mote the sustainable use of biodiversity in programs that im-prove food security and nutrition in the human population. Asubsequent objective of this effort is to contribute to the Millen-nium Development Goals, particularly to reducing to half, by2015, the proportion of hungry people in the world.

Options to implement this initiative were discussed in a firstexpert consultation on biodiversity and nutrition, held in Brazilin March 2005, prior to a meeting of the United Nations’ Stand-ing Committee on Nutrition. Participants at the consultationhighlighted a number of issues and proposed to work on threeareas: 1) substantiating and promoting awareness of the linksbetween biodiversity, food and nutrition; b) mainstreaming theconservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into agendasand programmes related to nutrition, agriculture and povertyreduction; and 3) promoting activities that contribute to improv-ing food security and human nutrition through enhanced sustain-able use of biodiversity.

Participants in the consultation recognized the benefits of work-ing together under a common framework, and committed them-selves to carrying out an inventory of the existing knowledgebase, including published scientific studies, indigenous andlocal knowledge and case studies, as well as preparing a policy-relevant review for publication in a scientific journal. They willalso promote and facilitate the development of pilot activities,including an inter-sectoral project on biodiversity for food andnutrition in Brazil, with a view to carry out similar activities inother countries. Tools will also be developed to facilitateimplementation of the proposed activities.

For further information contact Pablo Eyzaguirre <p.eyzaguirre@cgiar.org>, IPGRI Senior Scientist on Anthropology and Socio-economics, David Cooper <david.cooper@biodiv.org> at theSecretariat to the Convention on Biological Diversity, or FlorenceEgal <florence.egal@fao.org> and Barbara Burlingame <barbara.burlingame@fao.org> at FAO. It is also suggested to visit pagehttp://www.biodiv.org/programmes/areas/agro/food-nutrition/default.shtml.

3

The countries of the Americas region are home to crop diversity that isvitally important to present day agriculture. The region is a primary

or secondary centre of diversity for globally important crops such asmaize, potato, tomato, cacao and peppers. Today, this diversity isunder threat due to a variety of factors, such as population growth,urbanization, logging, ranching and intensive agriculture.

The national plant genetic resources programmes in the region havebeen hard pressed to match the pace of the genetic erosion takingplace. Lacking adequate resources, the agricultural institutions in theregion have limited capacity to conserve and use the rich agricultural biodiversitythat is such an important part of their natural heritage.

Help could soon be on the way, thanks to the intervention of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. An initiative ofthe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and IPGRI, acting on behalf of the FutureHarvest Centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Trust is anindependent international organization whose goal is to provide financial support for the world’s mostimportant crop diversity collections. At its centre is a $260 million endowment fund, the proceeds of whichwill go to fund ex situ conservation. Funds are also available to provide upgrading and capacity buildingsupport to priority collections. The Global Crop Diversity Trust is an important element of the fundingstrategy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The Trust came into legal being on 21 October 2004 when the Kingdom of Sweden signed the organiza-tion’s Establishment Agreement, bringing the number of signatories to twelve from five world regions. To-day, twenty countries, including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, have signed the Establishment Agreement.In addition, Colombia and Brazil are financial donors to the Trust.

Determining which crop diversity collections will be eligible for funding by the Trust is a major challenge.To do so, the Trust is supporting a series of initiatives to identify the world’s most critical collections ofcrop diversity and ascertain which of these should be given priority for funding. A process to develop re-gional and crop conservation strategies is currently underway with participation from stakeholders includ-ing holders of national and international collections, crop experts, policy-makers, non-governmental organ-izations, farmers’ organizations and others. The conservation strategies will be based on the principle ofcollaboration, that is, bringing together people and institutions to work collectively to conserve crop diver-sity. Together, the strategies will form the framework of efficient and effective global systems for conservation.

The process to develop a regional conservation strategy for the Americas was agreed in April at a meetingof sub-regional network coordinators and other stakeholders. The highly participatory process will involvethe six networks (REGENSUR, REDARFIT, TROPIGEN, REMERFI, CAPGERNet, NORGEN) as well as theIPGRI Americas Office, CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP, FAO, IICA and the PROCIs. Currently, the network coordinatorsare gathering information on collections in the various countries of the region to help identify the most im-portant collections for the region.

Assisted by a small task force, the countries will then work together to put into place a conservation strat-egy that is based on the twin pillars of rationalization and collaboration. In addition to establishing efficientand effective arrangements for conservation throughout the region, the strategy will identify collections thatshould be given priority to receive grants for upgrading and capacity building from the Trust. The regionalstrategy is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Global conservation strategies are also under-way for a number of crops of importance to the region such as potato, cassava, banana and rice.

For further information, contact Ruth Raymond <r.raymond@cgiar.org> at the Global Crop Diversity Trustor Michael Hermann <m.hermann@cgiar.org>, Senior Scientist on Genetic Diversity at the IPGRI AmericasOffice. You can also visit the Web page http://www.startwithaseed.org.

for the AmericasTowards a regional conservation strategy

4

a globConserving the wild relatives of crops:

Wild passiflora from Bolivia

In situ conservation of crop wild rela-tives through enhanced information

management and field application is aproject that addresses national andglobal needs to improve global food se-curity through effective conservation ofcrop wild relatives. Wild relatives includethe ancestors of modern crops and va-rieties and species related to them. Theproject, funded by the United NationsEnvironment Programme and the GlobalEnvironment Facility (UNEP/GEF) is afive-year initiative that will run until 2009.

The project brings together five countries–Armenia, Bolivia, Madagascar, Sri Lankaand Uzbekistan. Each country has signif-icant numbers of important and threat-ened crop wild relatives. Each country isalso among the world’s biodiversity hot-spots–places that have the highest con-centrations of unique biodiversity on theplanet. Hotspots are also the places atgreatest risk of loss of diversity. IPGRI isthe executing agency for the project.Five other international conservationorganizations are project partners–theFood and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations (FAO), the Botanic Gar-dens Conservation International (BGCI),the United Nations Environment Pro-gramme’s World Conservation Monitor-ing Centre (UNEP-WCMC), the WorldConservation Union (IUCN) and the Ger-man Centre for Documentation and In-formation in Agriculture (ZADI).

Why a global project on conservationof crop wild relatives?

Wild relatives have contributed manyuseful genes to crop plants. Almost allmodern varieties contain some genesthat are derived from a wild relative. Val-uable genes obtained from crop wildrelatives have improved production inrice and contributed resistance to wheatagainst curl mite, to potato against virusand to rice against grassy stunt. WildAegilops tauschii is providing wheatwith tolerance to drought and potentially

salinity. Breeders have also used genesfrom crop wild relatives to boost thenutritional value of foods such as en-hancing protein content in durum wheatfrom Triticum dicoccoides and increas-ing provitamin A in tomato from Lyco-persicon pennellii.

The economic benefits of improvedcrop production and quality and reduc-tion of risk of crop losses are highlysignificant. The desirable traits of wildsunflowers (Helianthus spp.) bred intocultivated sunflower, for example, isworth an estimated US$267 to US$384million annually to the sunflower indus-try in the United States. A 0.1% increasein the solids content of a tomato is worthabout US$10 million a year to the proces-sing industry in the state of Californiaalone. One wild tomato has contributedto a 2.4% increase in solid contents,worth US$250 million. Three differentwild peanuts have provided resistanceto root knot nematodes that cost pea-nut-growers around the world aboutUS$1000 million each year.

Useful but threatened

The natural populations of many cropwild relatives are increasingly at risk.As is the case for many wild speciesand ecosystems, they are threatenedprimarily by habitat loss, degradationand fragmentation. The increasing in-dustrialization of agriculture is reducingpopulations of crop wild relatives inand around farms. Management prac-tices such as poor management of soiland water and unsustainable fire andgrazing regimes can also have signif-icant impacts on species abundanceand persistence at a local scale.

The absence of an effective policy andlegal framework and national plans todeal specifically with conservation ofplant genetic resources has been iden-tified as a significant obstacle to the

5

global initiative to conserve species in situ

Annie Lane, IPGRI

conservation and use of crop wild relatives.Another major constraint for successfulconservation is the capacity to bring to-gether and use information that does exist.A number of studies have shown that a sub-stantial amount of information on wild spe-cies often exists but that it is dispersedamong different institutions and agenciesin different countries and internationalorganizations.

Key elements to the project

Countries participating in the project willdevelop national information systems anddecision-making processes that will helpdefine priorities and conduct some urgentconservation actions. The five partner coun-tries will develop their long-term nationalstrategies to conserve their wild relativesand will raise awareness on the importanceof these genetic resources.

International partners will develop a web-based information system integrating var-ious data sources that will be accessedthrough a single portal. With better infor-mation and access to it, researchers andbreeders will be able to use crop wildrelatives. These, in turn, will have addedvalue and will be more attractive forconservation.

The results of the project will be extensivelydisseminated at the national and global lev-els and best practices or successful strat-egies will be transferred immediately to oth-er countries with significant crop wild rela-tives. This will boost global efforts to conser-ve biological diversity in general and cropwild relatives in particular for the benefit oflocal users and the international community.

The project in Bolivia

The location of Bolivia in the centre of theSouth American continent and the largevariation in altitude, topography and climatemean that Bolivia is one of the most diversecountries in the world, both in terms of spe-

cies and eco-regions. Due to a relativelylow population, large areas of Bolivia are inexcellent conservation condition. Almost40% of this country is covered by nativeforests.

Bolivia is an important centre of origin anddiversity of a number of wild relatives ofeconomically important cultivated plantsincluding potato, peanut, sweet potato,beans, cassava, pineapple, chili peppersand passion fruit. Quinoa (Chenopodiumquinoa), a crop native the Bolivian Puna,distributed from Colombia to Chile, is gain-ing in global acceptance and importance asa nutritious grain.

The Crop Wild Relatives project is beingexecuted in Bolivia through the GeneralDirectorate on Biodiversity (DGB). FUN-DECO (Foundation for Ecological Develop-ment) is administering the project funds.Multiple stakeholders are involved in proj-ect activities according to their expertiseand experience. Among the major partnersare the National Service of Protected Areas(SERNAP); the Technological DevelopmentOffice of the Ministry of Agriculture, Live-stock and Rural Development; the Confed-eration of Bolivian Indigenous People(CIDOB); the Biodiversity and GeneticsCenter from Universidad Mayor de SanSimón; the Center for Plant Genetic Re-sources Research in Pairumani; the AndeanProducts Promotion and Research Foun-dation (PROINPA); the Bolivian NationalHerbarium; the Noel Kempff MercadoNatural History Museum; the Friends ofNature Foundation (FAN); the BolivianResearch Center for Tropical Agriculture(CIAT) and the Institute for EcologicalResearch (IE) from Universidad Mayor deSan Andrés.

For further information on the project onwild crop relatives, contact Annie Lane,Global Project Coordinator in IPGRI<a.lane@cgiar.org>, or Beatríz Zapata,National Coordinator in Bolivia <beazafe@megalink.com>.

6

of biodiversity products to the European marketEU food safety legislation hinders entry

Products made with the Andean root macaIván Manrique, CIP

Countries in the tropics are rich in edibleplants that can improve health and

diversify the diet of urban dwellers. Devel-oped countries demand more and more ex-otic foods and ingredients derived from bio-diversity products that are cultivated by smallscale developing country farmers. This demandoffers many opportunities for farmers to im-prove their income, that are not often mate-rialized because of the unfavorable conditionsthat biodiversity products face to enter intoupscale markets.

This situation is common in Europe, wherepublic debate on genetically modified foodand organisms has made consumers wary ofwhat they eat. European Union’s (EU) strictlegislation to regulate testing, labelling andadmission to the market of foreign food pro-ducts, to ensure their safety for human con-

sumption has created a new barrier to thetrade of biodiversity products from devel-oping countries.

EU Regulation 258/97 on Novel Foods andNovel Food Ingredients requires that foodproducts not in the EU market before 1997be submitted to a rigorous process to dem-onstrate that they do not pose any hazardson huaman health, such as toxicity or aller-gies, among others. The process to requestadmission of a new product is long, complex,and expensive because it requires supportinformation and investing in complex scien-tific studies. In the case of traditional exoticfood products, the scientific documentationthat would prove their safety is nonexistentor insufficient. The long history of safe use intheir places of origin is not recognized asevidence to support applications for theEuropean market.

In the seven years in which EU Regulation258/97 has been in place, several applica-tions for exotic traditional foods have beendeclined or challenged, arguing insufficientdocumentation on their safety for human

7

Diversity of maca (Lepidium meyenii) roots. CIP

consumption. Such is the case of the naturalsweetener Stevia rebaudiana, of the nangainuts from a Pacific genus of trees (Canariumspp.), and of the Andean root maca (Lepidummeyenii). Edible products obtained from thesespecies have a long history of safe humanuse. Nangai nuts, for example, have beenconsumed since prehistoric times and aremarketed widely in their native Asia. Maca,in turn, has been part of the Peruvian dietsince pre-Incaic times.

As a consequence to the rejection of theseapplications, European importers, raw mate-rial traders and distributors of specialty foodsfeel discouraged about the length, uncertaintyand high costs of the application process andscientific evaluations required. Regardless ofhow attractive or convenient the new productslook for the market, companies do not want toinvest because they fear that their effortsmight be useless.

As an incentive or compensation for theinvestments made to scientifically provetraditional product safety, EU Regulation258/97 grants requestors of successfulapplications the privilege of distributing theirproducts exclusively and temporarily in theEU market. This, in practice, creates a mo-nopoly because a product that has been inpublic domain in its place of origin becomesa product protected by intellectual propertyrights in the EU market. In addition, productsderived from the same raw material approvedbut with different characteristics or for whichdifferent levels of intake are suggested, haveto be submitted to a separate procedure ofrisk analysis, which implies providing evi-dence for all to endorse their use.

IPGRI and the Global Facilitation Unit forUnderutilized Species, acting jointly on behalfof a partnership of the public sector that in-cludes the International Potato Center (CIP),the German Technical Agency for Cooperation(GTZ), and the PhAction Consortium, are work-ing with policy makers in the EU to modify thisRegulation and facilitate the entry of non-traditional foods to the EU, without risks forconsumers. Suggestions to amend the Regu-lation include 1) recognizing traditional food

products as a separate category of innovativefoods, taking into account their history of use;2) simplifying safety testing and putting it inthe context of risks associated with foods inuse in the European Union; 3) facilitating theacquisition of entry permits after the first safe-ty demonstration for the consumer; and 4)allowing the generic admission of traditionalfoods, that is, of groups of products obtainedfrom the same plant species through tradi-tional processes considered safe.

Due to the importance of documenting productsafety for consumers in the developed world,countries that would like to introduce theirproducts in markets like that of Europe shouldhave information systems in which they docu-ment the composition, nutritional content andtradition of use of their products. Unfortunately,in the case of many conventional products, thisinformation is currently not available and shouldbe taken into account in project design, productdevelopment, and in trade promotion activities.

For further information contac Michael Hermann<m.hermann@cgiar.org> at the IPGRI AmericasOffice or Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon <i.zeledon@cgiar.org> at the Global Facilitation Unit forUnderutilized Species. It is also suggested tovisit page http://www.underutilized-species.org/the_latest/archive/pop_up_/eu_nfr.html.

8

and use nutritious cropsMayan communities conserve

On-farm conservation is aform of in situ conserva-

tion in which farmers maintaindiversity in use as part of theirsubsistence, and enhance itusing their knowledge of cropdiversity. In this process, farm-ers use agromorphologicalcharacters to test and adaptvarieties to their conditionsand preferences, and decidewhether they maintain them.

Within the framework of an IPGRI project tostrengthen the scientific bases of on-farmconservation of agrobiodiversity, which startedin 2002, maize and chili pepper varieties fromYucatan, Mexico, are being evaluated to assesswhy Mayan communities maintain them and howthey contribute to the diet of these communities.Farmers and scientists, both male and female,are doing this evaluation together. They havealso compiled information on how maize andchili pepper varieties are used in the preparationof food, mainly meals for traditional celebrations.Samples of maize grains and chili peppers havealso been tested in laboratories to determinetheir nutritional content.

Both maize and chili peppers are part of theMayan diet and culture since pre-Hispanic times.According to the Popol Vuh, the sacred book ofMayas, human beings were made of corn afterthe gods failed in their attempts with other mater-ials. Maize is for the Maya people a gift from thegods, as precious as jade. Ancient Mayas be-lieved in growing maize as a sacred duty. Chilipeppers, in turn, were practically used in everymeal, from breakfast with pozole, a mixture ofmaize cereal dressed with chili peppers, to dinnerwith preparations containing various species ofchili peppers. Healing and mystique propertieshave also been attributed to chili peppers. Theyhave been used in hunting rituals, as an anti-inflammatory drug, and as a cure cramps andevil eye.

The Mayan diet is rich and diverse. Besides thetraditional tortillas, there are more than four hun-dred different preparations for maize. Togetherwith beans, pumpkin and chili peppers, maizemakes a balanced diet, rich in carbohydrates,with some protein, iron, vitamins and minerals,that Mayan farmers complement with animalprotein, fruits and vegetables from their milpasand home gardens.

Through interviews to Yaxcaba farmers, informa-tion was compiled on which maize and chilipepper varieties were used to make meals forvarious celebrations, including altars for thedead festivity (hanal pixan in Mayan language),observed in November of every year, a ritual torequest rain (ch’a’ cháak), the Holy Week andother family parties. This survey made evidentthe variety of Mayan dishes and some physicaland organoleptic properties valued by women,such as pungency in chili pepper varieties, andtexture and yield in maize dough to make tortillasand tamales.

Classifying local chili pepper and maize varietiesin terms of their cooking attributes revealed thatsome are preferred for specific dishes becausethey contribute the desired flavor or dough tex-ture. Preference for certain variety attributes wasthe same for those who made the dishes andthose who ate them. For example, flavor in therelleno negro (black filling), a dish prepared withchili peppers, maize and other ingredients, isgiven by the local chili pepper Ya’ax iik. Yellowmaize gives more dough for tortillas, whichexplains why varieties Tsiit bakal and Xnuuk nalare preferred.

Preferred maize and chili pepper varieties weretested in labs to determine their overall (fats,carbohydrates and proteins) and specific (aminoacids in maize and vitamin C and capsaicinoidsin the chili pepper) nutritional contents. For exam-ple, chili peppers ‘Habanero’, Sukurre,’ Peak Pi-geon,’ and ‘Ya’ax iik’ exhibited a greater amountof dihydrocapsaicin, which is reflected in theflavor and aroma of the dishes or sauces made

9

Buut’bil bu’ul waaj

Stuffed tortillas as per a recipe by Mrs. Rosenda Kuxim Uk, from Yaxcaba,Mexico. Esmeralda Cázares

with them. As to vitamin C content, a variationof between 105 and 206 mg/100 g per samplewas observed, suggesting that preferred varietieshave an intermediate degree of pungency andmay account for a person’s daily requirementsof vitamin C (50-60 mg/day).

In the case of maize, preferred local varietieswere compared with a group of modern varietiesand advanced lines from formal breeding. Resultsshowed that farmer varieties have the same orgreater content of tryptophan than improvedvarieties (Figure 1).

Interestingly, the study revealed that althoughfarmers expressed their preferences in associ-ation with dish flavor or dough texture, the chem-ical analyses of the preferred varieties showedfavorable nutritional characteristics. This explainsin part why farmers continue to maintain themand ratifies that varieties are not always main-tained because of their productivity. Althoughfarmers participating in the study did not mentionnutrition in their preferences, they were pleasedto know that their varieties are nutritious and feltproud of the contribution Mayan communitiescan make to the Mexican market.

For further information contact to José LuisChávez-Servia <j.l.chavez@cgiar.org>, Specialiston Conservation of Cultivated Genetic Resourcesat the IPGRI Americas Office, Esmeralda Cázares-Sánchez <esmecaza@yahoo.com.mx> at theMexican Colegio de Postgraduados or Devra I.Jarvis <d.jarvis@cgiar.org>, Scientist on Diversityand Ecosystems at IPGRI in Rome.

Figure 1. Average content of lysine and tryptophan of maizevarieties from Yucatan, compared to those of varieties fromformal breeding. QPM-3 and Opcaco2-3 are modern varietiesreleased for their high protein quality.

Ingredients (for 50 pieces)

2 kg of maize dough1/2 liter of cooked, ground andstrained beans1/4 of a cabbage head2 tomatoes1 onion2 habanero chili peppers1 sour orange or 2 lemons1/2 a hen, roasted or shreded(optional)Salt to tasteOil

PreparationChop cabbage, add the juice of the sourorange or lemons and salt to taste. Letmarinate. Cut the tomatoes, onion and chilipeppers in thin slices. Cover chopped onionwith boiling water and let rest for threeminutes. When these ingredients are ready,make small tortillas with the dough and adda tablespoonful of strained beans within thelayers of the tortilla. Fry the tortillas in hot oilwithout letting them harden. Serve them witha bit of cabbage, tomato, onion, chili pepperand shreded hen. If desired, add some slicedavocado.

Recipe for stuffed tortillas

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10

New World Fruits Database

In the background, fruits of aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa).Stefano Padulosi, IPGRI

Modeled distribution of aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa), a palm tree from theAmazon used to make desserts and beverages.

The American continent is home to manyfruit species, whose potential is realized

depending on how much they are studiedand known by the international community.Papaya and pineapple, for example, are wellknown and cultivated. Sweet granadilla, sapo-dilla and babaco are less known, yet havevaluable potential to diversify crops, generateincome for farmers and improve people’s diets.

After several years compiling information onedible tropical American fruits, IPGRI recentlylaunched the New World Fruits Database, asan outcome of its collaborative work with theCentre for International Cooperation on Agri-cultural Research for Development (CIRAD)and the International Center for Tropical Agri-culture (CIAT). This database is an update ofthe former ethno-botanical inventory on trop-ical American fruits, available in html format.

The new database is available at http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/Regions/Americas/programmes/TropicalFruits/. It has information on 1256species from 303 genera and 69 families. It isadjusted to the standards of the InternationalWorking Group on Taxonomic Databases forPlant Sciences (TDWG). When available, dataare included on species taxonomy, commonnames in eight languages and dialects, usesof the fruits and other plant parts, photographs,sources of bibliography, contacts with expertsand links to sources of additional information inthe Internet.

For 805 species, data on origin and geographicdistribution is available and complemented withmaps. Locations for potential cultivation or con-servation are included for 415 species. Consid-ering that predicting potential sites for cultiva-tion depends on the quality and reliability ofexternal data, this information is given just asindication.

The New World Fruits Database is a practicaltool for researchers, breeders, students and

fruit growers. It can be easily accessed througha user-friendly interface that allows single ormultiple criteria searches, using entire wordsor a few of the initial letters of the criterionselected.

The new database illustrates the diversity offruits from the American continent, and hope-fully the potential of many fruit species thatneed to be promoted, studied and cultivated.Data on marketing, nutritional content, chem-ical-bromatological analyses and soil require-ments will hopefully be included in the nearfuture.

Suggestions or comments to improve thedatabase are welcome. Contributions in dataand photographs will also be appreciated andtheir contributors given credit. For furtherinformation contact Xavier Scheldeman, Sci-entist, Conservation and Use of Tropical Ge-netic Resources <x.scheldeman@cgiar.org>,Dimary Libreros, Information Assistant <d.libreros@cgiar.org> or Daniel Jimenez, AgriculturalEngineer, CIAT-IPGRI <d.jimenez@cgiar.org>.

11

genetic resources conservation

Biodiversity loss is one of the most important ecological problems of our time.Various conservation strategies have been developed to counteract it, including

ex situ conservation, in which plants or parts of them are kept in genebanks, outsidetheir natural habitat.

Like tissue explants, isolated DNA samples can be stored, allowing the conservationof species that would be difficult or impossible to maintain otherwise. The differencebetween maintaining tissue explants and DNA samples lies in that maintaining theformer in vitro or in liquid nitrogen (N2) allows restoring the original plant, while storingthe latter retains the molecule components that determine original plant traits. Thus,although DNA storage does not allow regenerating original organisms, it preserves thespecies genetic information that is useful to manage germplasm collections efficiently,whether these are in seed, in the field, in vitro or in N2. DNA is also used for safetyduplicating germplasm collections.

Molecular markers make it possible to detect variability in the DNA molecule. Theycan identify and taxonomically classify germplasm, to detect potential duplicates ina collection, to confirm sample stability and integrity, to quantify genetic diversitywithin and between samples, to look for historical relations and to detect evolutionand selection patterns. For these reasons, they make DNA banking useful. StoredDNA promotes the genetic characterization of collections, either generically or bylocating genes of interest.

In 2004, IPGRI conducted a survey on the extent and use of DNA storage worldwide.The survey was sent to 816 national and international institutes, botanical gardens,universities and private sector companies working with plant genetic resources, in134 countries. The results showed that storing DNA is not a frequent practice; only20% of the 243 organizations that completed the survey store DNA. Reasons for notdoing it included lack of knowledge on why and how to do it as well as limitations inbudget, equipment and trained personnel. More than half of the organizations thatresponded the survey would be interested in storing DNA in the future, provided theyhave adequate conditions. They would do it for research, for conserving genes andgenomes and for safety duplicating germplasm collections.

Responses to the survey also included requests for information on protocols andprocedures to store DNA, legal issues regarding exchange, limitations and oppor-tunities offered by DNA storage, and funding sources. Respondents also mentionedthe need for coordination and standardization of activities as well as having accessto sources of DNA samples that could be accessed through the Internet.

DNA banking is also an effective tool to manage germplasm collections and studyconventionally conserved material. Some respondents to the survey suggested thatIPGRI lead the standardization of protocols to extract, amplify and store DNA, andthe preparation of a manual on DNA banking, with theoretical information on objectives,applications, procedures, and legal issues such as exchange and intellectual property.Some respondents expressed concern for urgent research to fill existing policy gaps.

For further information, contact Meike Andersson, Biologist <m.andersson@cgiar.org>or M. Carmen de Vicente, Senior Scientist, Molecular Genetics <c.devicente@cgiar.org> at the IPGRI Americas Group.

DNA banks complement

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in the Peruvian AmazonModel to determine genetic diversity and erosion

Map of the Department ofUcayali in Peru. White spotsindicate the communitieswhere the study to determinediversity and genetic erosionof cassava was conducted.The size of the white spotsindicates concentration ofcassava diversity in thecommunities studied.

Genetic diversity results from a complexinteraction of environmental and socio-

economic factors. Genetic erosion is the lossof genetic diversity and has a negative impacton the productivity and sustainability of agri-cultural systems. Knowing the factors thataffect diversity and how they interact helps usunderstand why diversity can be lost and whatto do to maintain it. This knowledge also allowsto develop models to predict diversity in exten-sive areas or when there is a risk of geneticerosion.

Genetic diversity is usually determined throughthe morphological or molecular characteriza-tion of a germplasm collection. Although char-acterization is a reliable method, it is not prac-tical when applied to large geographical areasbecause of the time and resources it requires.In a project conducted by IPGRI and the Peru-vian Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Exten-sión Agraria (INIEA), funded by the GermanAgency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), theprocesses that influence diversity and the

presence genetic erosion were studied. Thepurpose of this project was to develop modelsto estimate diversity in a large geographicalareas, using environmental and socioeconomicvariables rather than characterization.

The project was carried out between 2001 and2004 in the Department of Ucayali, located inthe Peruvian Amazon, selecting crops withdifferent uses and environmental requirementssuch as cassava, chili peppers, peanuts andmaize as indicators. The Amazon region waschosen because of its high diversity, that is alsoquickly disappearing, and because there was asolid basis of spatial information for this region.

The goal of the project was to estimate diversityon the basis of socioeconomic data. For thisreason, several sources of data were taken intoaccount, including among others, censuses,maps of roads, cities, deforestation, climate,rivers and distance between the communities inthe area under study and the market of Pucallpa.These data were complemented with a survey

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Ucayali farmer shows a traditional variety of cassava. In the background, acommercial planting of cassava. Stefano Padulosi, IPGRI.

among 451 farmers from 60 communities inUcayali, in which farmers were asked to indicatehow they managed the selected crops, whichvarieties they maintained, what are the culturalcharacteristics of their communities, what trendsthey perceived in agriculture, and if they hadnoticed a loss of diversity in their farms. A totalof 40 variables were used, and the data wereanalyzed with statistical methods and geo-graphic information systems (GIS).

The diversity present in Ucayali was determinedby selecting a set of indicators representing thegreatest target crop variability. Significant rela-tionships between crop diversity and socioeco-nomic and environmental factors were identified.Using the data compiled for cassava as anexample, 15 traits were found to determinediversity, including leaf shape, stem color androot weight.

At the level of community, factors related withdiversity were distance from the community toPucallpa, if the area where the crop was plantedwas flat or mountainous, and farmers’ percep-tion of where diversity was available and loss ofvarieties. Ethnicity and farm size did not have asignificant effect on diversity; in fact, settlersand natives have similar conservation patterns,regardless of the size of their farms.

In order to determine genetic erosion in commu-nities, data from the survey was used to deter-mine what percentage of farmers had perceiveddiversity loss. Factors associated with loss ofvarieties identified included distance from thecommunity to a road, presence of ranching ac-tivities in the area and whether planting materialwas obtained from a local market.

Contrary to what could be expected, factorsthat had a negative relation with diversity didnot show a positive relation with genetic ero-sion. In other words, according to the study,factors that contribute to diversity maintenancein one area are different from those causinggenetic erosion. Evidence of this is the fact thatcommunities with little diversity are differentfrom those in which a high percentage of farmersreports perceiving losses in biodiversity. Under-standing which processes determine diversity

and its loss is a complex task that has not yetbeen fully studied. The results of this projectwill allow refining methodologies to developmodels that estimate diversity and risk ofgenetic erosion. Estimates resulting fromapplying these models will obviously be validin certain areas and for a given crop. Likewise,as the processes that determine diversity arelikely to differ from one region to another(Amazon vs. Andes, for example), conductingmore studies in places for which historical dataare available is suggested.

For further information contact XavierScheldeman, Scientist, Conservation andUtilization of Neotropical Genetic Resources<x.scheldeman@cgiar.org> or WietekeWillemen, Associate Expert on GIS<l.willemen@cgiar.org>.

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The first-ever winner of a new M.Sc. scholarship programme, Linking Africa and Brazil in PGReducation, is José Pedro, a scientist working withthe Angolan Plant Genetic Resources Center(CNRF) in Luanda. The programme is funded bythe government of Brazil and developed collab-oratively by IPGRI and the M.Sc. Post GraduateProgramme on Plant Genetic Resources of theFederal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), inFlorianapolis, Brazil.

José Pedro’s research work will involve thecharacterization of varieties of cowpea (Vignaunguiculata) held at the CNRF genebank inLuanda, which is home to nearly 3000 samplesof crops important to Angola’s food security.These include, in addition to cowpea, beans, corn,millet, peanut, sorghum and rice.

Cowpea is a grain legume of the family Fabaceae, also known as black-eyed pea. In addition to being richin protein, it is drought tolerant and because of its ability to fix nitrogen, it can grow on and improve poorsoils. It is used for human and animal consumption and has proved particularly lucrative for Angola’s smallfarmers. However, only a very small portion of the cowpea germplasm maintained at CNRF has beencharacterized, and this information is needed by farmers and breeders to identify materials that are moreproductive and resistant to pests and diseases.

José Pedro will also be trained in the use of relevant information tools and software for analyzing anddocumenting characterization data. When he returns to Luanda, he will bring with him the knowledge andskills necessary to strengthen the plant genetic resources activities of his country and of CNRF, in particular.

IPGRI and UFSC have worked together since 2003, when they established a partnership to strengthenresearch, education and professional development in the field of plant genetic resources. One componentof this partnership has involved the development of strategies for supporting genetic resources programmesin Lusophone African countries (Angola, CapeVerde, Guinée Bissau, Mozambique, São Toméand Principe) and for strengthening linkages be-tween academic and national agricultural researchsectors. The new biennial scholarship is part ofthis effort and is open to genetic resources pro-fessionals working in the countries mentioned.

To find out more about the scholarship, contactElizabeth Doupé Goldberg <e.goldberg@cgiar.org>, Head, Capacity Development Researchand Support Unit at IPGRI in Rome, or MargaritaBaena <m.baena@cgiar.org>, Public Awarenessand Capacity Development Specialist at the IPGRIAmericas Group.

New scholarship for capacity developmentlinks IPGRI, Angola and Brazil

Angolan scientist José Pedro, winner of the first scholarshiplinking Africa and Brazil in plant genetic resources training. UFSC

A cowpea plant, Vigna unguiculata.

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Characterization of Musa hybrids to ensure integrityIFAR supports scientific excellence

Vavilov-Frankel Fellows 2005

Gideon Njau Mwai from Kenya and NarayandasLaxminarayan Mantri from India are the win-

ners of this year’s Vavilov Frankel Fellowships,IPGRI’s annual awards for young scientists.

Mwai’s research on varieties of African nightshade(Solanum) a popular, highly nutritious, yet scienti-fically neglected indigenous vegetable–will help topromote use of the crop in Kenya, thereby contri-buting to local farmers’ incomes and well-being aswell as enhancing its conservation. Mantri hopes toboost chickpea (Cicer arietinum) production in Indiaand Australia by developing a tool that will make it

easy for breeders to screen varieties of chickpeafor resistant traits.

Mwai, a tutorial fellow at Maseno University inKenya, believes that African nightshade, a ubiq-uitous plant in East Africa, can improve the nutri-tional and economic status of marginalized com-munities in the region. «I am keenly interested inresearching African indigenous vegetables, whichI strongly believe need not only to be conserved,but have the potential to significantly contribute toresolutions of the problems of poverty and mal-nutrition that are so widespread amongst our

In 2004, four researchers supported by IPGRIwere awarded grants from IFAR, a foundation

that promotes scientific excellence among theFuture Harvest Centres of the Consultative Groupon International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)and their partners. These grants are intended tocontribute to the professional development ofresearchers from developing countries.

Helga Rodríguez von Platen, a Costa Rican bio-logist and biotechnologist working at the CentroAgronómico de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE),was one of the grantees. Her research consistedin developing molecular fingerprints to identifybanana hybrids produced by the Honduran Foun-dation for Agricultural Research (FHIA) with micro-satellites and to validate their usefulness in identi-fying hybrids from the Costa Rican Musa collection.

Although banana hybrids are widely distributed,their identity can sometimes be in doubt. Helgadeveloped a method to effectively identify veryclosely related Musa hybrids. With ten micro-satellites, Helga could distinguish effectively be-tween the full-sib hybrids FHIA-01 and FHIA-18,and with another set of these markers she coulddifferentiate hybrids FHIA-25, FHIA-21, FHIA-20,FHIA-26 and FHIA-03. She could not, however,find a microsatellite to distinguish between FHIA-17 and FHIA-23 nor could she identify polymor-phism between them, despite that found in their

parents. For this reason, she suggests conductingstudies to overcome the great genetic similaritybetween FHIA-17 and FHIA-23, with a techniquenamed representational differential analysis (RDA),that helps find differences in complex and nearlyidentical genomes such as that of Musa.

Besides helping determine the integrity of someMusa hybrids from FHIA, Helga’s work will helpresearchers on plant tissue culture and nurseryprofessionals eliminate not-true-to-type plants,and will also serve to develop a bar code for allhybrids. This technology will benefit the smallbanana growers from Asia and Central Americathat will now have a guarantee on the materialthey purchase.

Getting an IFAR grant has given Helga the per-spective and techniques to help a wide spectrumof users to maximize FHIA hybrid purchase guar-antee. In Helga’s opinion, the grant helped herprofessionally and as an individual and farmer.This experience also allowed her to bring to Cos-ta Rica new materials that she will be able to sharewith labs in Latin America.

For further information, contact Helga Rodríguezvon Platen, INIBAP-CATIE, <laselva@racsa.co.cr>,visit IFAR’s web site (http://www.ifar4dev.org/index.htm).

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people,» he said. Mwai is pursuing his PhD in col-laboration with the Asian Vegetable Research andDevelopment Centre (AVRDC) in Arusha, Tanzania,which has a large collection of vegetable night-shades.

Despite its popularity among local people and itshigh nutritional value, African nightshade, like manyother African leafy vegetables, has been somewhatneglected scientifically. As a result, existing taxo-nomic information about the plant is complex andconfused. At the Botanical and Experimental Gar-den and the Laboratory of Plant Cell Biology at theRadboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands,Mwai will work on the taxonomy of African night-shade. He will also assess existing varieties fornutritional value and taste to identify the best onesfor farmers to use now and as the basis for im-proving the crop. More accurate taxonomicinformation will make it easier for future workersto improve the vegetable nightshades.

Mantri is currently pursuing a PhD at the Schoolof Applied Sciences, Biotechnology and Environ-mental Biology of the Royal Melbourne Instituteof Technology (RMIT) in Australia. His research willuse DNA microarrays to identify genes responsiblefor disease and stress resistance in chickpea vari-eties. The ultimate output of his project, Mantrihopes, will be a model tool for screening chickpeavarieties for resistance traits.

India is the world’s largest producer of chickpea,accounting for 75% of world production. A popularingredient in Indian cuisine, chickpeas also provideconsumers with a vital source of protein as well asplaying a key role in rotational cropping systems,adding nitrogen to the soil. However, an increase indroughts, caused by irregular monsoon rains, hascaused a drastic drop in the country’s chickpeaproduction.

Delegates attending the International Pulse TradeConference in May of 2001, predicted that Indiawould need up to 2 million tonnes of importedchickpeas to make up for expected deficits. Otherstresses, including the widespread Ascochytablight–a common disease affecting chickpea–havecontributed to the poor harvests. Australia, theworld’s largest exporter of chickpea, also wit-nessed a catastrophic decline in productionfollowing an outbreak of Ascochyta blight in 1998.

By developing a tool that will enable breeders toeasily screen chickpea varieties for resistance todrought and disease, Mantri hopes that new andimproved varieties of chickpea can be developedand distributed to farmers in India and elsewhere,thereby promoting chickpea production in a sus-tainable and environmentally friendly manner.

The Vavilov Frankel Fellowships programme aimsto enable outstanding young scientists fromdeveloping countries to carry out research thatis relevant and innovative outside of their owncountries, thereby contributing to the scientist’sprofessional development, and to the country’sability to effectively use and conserve its cropdiversity. Since 2004, the Grains Research andDevelopment Corporation (GRDC) of Australiaand Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a DuPontcompany, have been supporting the fellowships.The annual call for applications opens in Julyevery year; applications are received until No-vember and fellows are announced in April of thefollowing year.

For further information about the Vavilov FrankelFellowships, contact Dimary Libreros <d.libreros@cgiar.org> at the IPGRI Americas Group or visitthe Web page http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/training/vavilov.htm where you will find detailed informationon the dates and how to apply to the 2006 call.

Mr. Gideon Mwai of MasenoUniversity, Kenya, will studythe diversity, nutritional value,alkaloid content and organ-oleptic quality of vegetablenightshades (Solanumsection Solanum), withsupport from Pioneer Hi-BredInternational, Inc.

Mr. NarayandasLaxminarayan Mantri of theMarathwada AgriculturalUniversity, Parbhani, India,will analyze the stress-relatedgenes of chickpea (Cicerarietinum) using microarrays.This research is supported bythe Grains Research and De-velopment Corporation(GRDC), Australia.

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Genetic resources portalsPGR in the Web

Opportunities for training

Research support databases

http://www.scidev.net/ms/biofacts/This is the site of the Science of Development Network. It provides information on the currentstatus of biodiversity in the world, on topics including the value of biodiversity, the threats tobiodiversity and the conservation of it. The site has links to other sites related to geneticresources conservation.

www.ileia.org/The site of the Centre for Information on Sustainable Agriculture gives access to Leisa, a maga-zine on low external input and sustainable agriculture, and to a documentation center withnearly 10,000 records. It also has a contacts database and information on crop systems,organic agriculture and agroforestry.

http://www.ukabc.org/This is the site of the UK Agricultural Biodiversity Coalition, a network of non-governmentalorganizations in agrobiodiversity in England. The site contains information on sustainableagriculture, biodiversity, genetic engineering, intellectual property rights and benefit sharing.It has links to genebanks, crop information systems and organizations that work with animaland plant genetic resources.

http://www.iisd.ca/This portal on agrobiodiversity, hosted by the International Institute for SustainableDevelopment, includes information on sustainable development, wild life, climate, forestry,desertification, land, water, wetlands and human development. Within each topic, there arelinks to events and relevant organizations.

http://www.itis.usda.gov/The Integrated Taxonomic Information System is a database with authoritative taxonomicinformation on plants, fungi, animals and microbes of North America and the world. It allowssearching by common and scientific name. Data on species includes genealogy and geo-graphical distribution. It is linked to other web sites with relevant information and is useful forthose undertaking taxonomic revisions.

http://www.fao.org/biotech/inventory_admin/dep/default.asp?lang=enFAO-BioDeC is a database meant to gather, store, organize and disseminate updated baselineinformation on the state-of-the-art of crop biotechnology products and techniques in use indeveloping countries. The database includes about 2000 entries from 70 developing countries,including countries with economies in transition. It contains profiles of national research capac-ity, including key organizations, the political framework of biotechnology, the biotechnologyapplications and reference sites with information to support biotechnology activities.

http://www.programalban.org/The Alban programme promotes cooperation between the European Union and Latin Americain higher education. It covers graduate studies and specialized training for professionals fromArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala,Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay y Venezuela.

http://www.helmholtz.de/This is the site of the Hemholtz Association of National Research Centers of Germany. It offersscholarships to young researchers to pursue doctorate and post doctorate studies in environ-mental and biological sciences.

http://www.ecofondos.net/Ecofondos is a portal of information on sources of funding for projects on natural resourcesconservation and sustainable development focused in Latin America. It provides informationon scholarships and contains a database of services that can be searched by topic.

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BooksReadings on PGR

Reed, B.M., F. Engelmann, M.E. Dulloo and J.M.M. Engels. 2004. Technical guidelines for themanagement of field and in vitro germplasm collections. IPGRI. Handbooks for Genebanks No.7. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1016.

Because of their physical characteristics, some species require to be propagated vegetativelyand to be maintained in the field or in vitro. Maintaining field collections is costly and carriesa high risk of losing materials while in vitro conservation allows better control of germplasmcollections. The need to develop strategies and procedures to manage collections in vitro andin the field motivated the development of this guide. Divided in two sections, the first sectiondescribes general considerations for the establishment and management of germplasm col-lections, including acquisition and entry of the material into the collection, germplasm healthissues, conservation methods available and management procedures. The second sectionfocuses on establishing and maintaining field and in vitro collections. Procedures are given forthe former and the basic lab requirements and standards for the latter. The guide includes 13appendices with examples of data that can serve to develop a system to document and man-age field and in vitro collections.

FAO, FLD, IPGRI. 2004. Forest genetic resources conservation and management. Vol. 1:Overview, concepts and some systematic approaches. International Plant Genetic ResourcesInstitute, Rome, Italy. http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1018.

This guide is the first volume in a series of three booklets that deals with the conservation offorest (tree and shrub) genetic resources. This volume gives an overview of concepts andsystematic approaches to the conservation and management of forest genetic resources. Itoutlines the need to conserve these resources and focuses on some of the strategies thatmay be employed in doing this. In addition, the volume focuses on planning national conser-vation of forest genetic resources, identification of research needs in forest resources, peo-ple’s participation in the conservation of forest genetic diversity, and regional and internationalapproaches to the conservation of forest genetic resources.

De Vicente, M.C., C. López and T. Fulton. 2004. Molecular marker learning modules, Vol. 1 y 2.Cornell University / International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=912.

These modules, developed jointly by IPGRI and the Institute for Genomic Diversity, CornellUniversity, aim to promote capacity building and research on biodiversity use and conser-vation worldwide through the application of molecular markers. They discuss the fundamentalprinciples of genetic diversity, the qualities of the markers used to measure it and the mostwidely used technologies, including those based on proteins, DNA and the polymerase chainreaction. Explanatory graphics and photographs illustrate key experimental procedures, andreal-life examples are given of applications to particular cases of genetic diversity studies and/or germplasm management. These should help in the use of the modules as a useful educa-tional resource, whether as a self-tutorial or incorporated into a university curriculum. Theyalso compare the various techniques in terms of their advantages and disadvantages, as wellas the relative costs of each procedure to help the beginning scientist understand the keycomponents for selecting those procedures most appropriate for a given research. The mod-ules are intended for scientists with a minimal background in genetics and plant molecularbiology, but with a working knowledge of plant genetic resources and issues concerning theirconservation and management.

Chávez-Servia, J.L., J. Tuxill and D.I. Jarvis (eds). 2004. Manejo de la diversidad de los cultivosen los agroecosistemas tradicionales. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI),Cali, Colombia.

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Articles

This publication, in Spanish, contains 29 articles that describe the state of on-farm conser-vation of genetic resources in Mexico and Latin America. Articles in this book are groupedin three sections. The first part is about crop diversity and agroecosystems, especially maize,beans, chili peppers, chayote and some local varieties. The second part describes in situ ma-nagement of crop diversity, seed systems, on-farm breeding and how farmers participate inconservation. The third part deals with the social, cultural and economic aspects involved inthe conservation of genetic diversity in home gardens. This book is available in hard copy only.

Carrizosa, S., S.B. Brush, B.D. Wright and P.E. McGuire (eds). 2004. Accessing biodiversity andsharing the benefits: lessons from implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. http://www.iucn.org/themes/law/pdfdocuments/EPLP54EN.pdf.

This book contains 13 chapters dealing with access to biodiversity and benefit sharing. Itincludes information on policy as well as regional and national laws on genetic resources.Case studies are included describing political processes and implementation of accessregimes and benefit sharing in Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Philippines, the UnitedStates, Australia, Chile and Malaysia. The last chapter includes conclusions on the progressof countries in establishing policies after the Convention on Biological Diversity and somerecommendations to define policies regarding access to genetic resources according tonational laws. It also has three annexes with the conclusions of an international workshopon access and benefit sharing, the biodata of authors that have written on access and bene-fit sharing, and a list of contacts. The book is available in pdf format.

Herman, M. and O. Hidalgo (eds.). 2004. Conservación y uso de la biodiversidad de raíces ytubérculos andinos: una década de investigación para el desarrollo (1993-2003). Centro Inter-nacional de la Papa (ClP) y Agencia Suiza para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación (COSUDE). Lima,Peru. http://www.cipotato.org/artc/ARTC_series_spa_pubs.htm.

This series, in Spanish, compiles ten years of research results on Andean roots and tubersfrom a project sponsored by COSUDE and conducted by the International Potato Center(CIP) and the national plant genetic resources programs of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, withsome participation from IPGRI. The series contains eight publications on several aspects ofAndean roots and tubers, including sustainable management of tuber agrobiodiversity, in situconservation of oca, ulluco cultivation, alternatives to conservation and sustainable use,economic potential of ulluco cultivation and marketing, and some uses of yacon. The seriesalso includes a catalog of local varieties of potato and oca from Bolivia. These publicationsare available at CIP’s web site.

Genetic diversityJarvis, D.I., V. Zoes, D. Nares and T. Hodgkin. 2004. On-farm management of crop geneticdiversity and the Convention on Biological Diversity programme of work on agriculturalbiodiversity. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter No. 138:5-17.

Trakhtenbrot, A., R. Nathan, G. Perry and D.M. Richardson. 2005. The importance of long-distance dispersal in biodiversity conservation. Diversity and Distributions Vol. 11(2):173-181.

Westengen, O.T., Z. Huamán y M. Heun. 2005. Genetic diversity and geographic pattern inearly South American cotton domestication. Theoretical and Applied Genetics Vol. 110(2):392-402.

Molecular geneticsGuzmán, F.A., H. Ayala, C. Azurdia, M.C. Duque and M.C. de Vicente 2005. AFLP assessmentof genetic diversity of Capsicum genetic resources in Guatemala: home gardens as an optionfor conservation. Crop Science Vol. 45(1):363-370.

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International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Americas GroupA.A. 6713, Cali, Colombia. Phone: (57-2) 445-0048/9; Fax: (57-2) 445-0096;

Email: ciat-ipgri@cgiar.org; Web address: http://www.ipgri.org/regions/Americas

Hegarty, M.J. and S.J. Hiscock. 2005. Hybrid speciation in plants: new insights from molecularstudies. New Phytologist Vol. 165(2):411-423.

Ocampo, C.H., J.P. Martín, M.D. Sánchez-Yélamo, J.M. Ortíz and O. Toro. 2005. Tracing the originof Spanish common bean cultivars using biochemical and molecular markers. Genetic Resourcesand Crop Evolution Vol. 52(1):33-40.

Wright, S.I. and B.S. Gaut. 2005. Molecular population genetics and the search for adaptiveevolution in plants. Molecular Biology and Evolution Vol. 22(3):506-519.

Tropical fruitsCárdenas, W., M.L. Zuluaga and M. Lobo. 2004. The effect of seed dormancy on germplasmconservation and viability monitoring in lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam) and tree tomato(Cyphomandra betacea (Solanum betaceum) Cav. Sendt). Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter No.139:31-41.

Cock, J.H. and J. Voss. 2004. A passion for fruits: development of high value horticultural crops inLatin America. Acta Horticulturae No. 642:57-67.

Salles, J.R. de J., M.F. de Farias, F. A. dos Santos and E. Chagas Filho. 2004. Effect of coldness onpostharvest conservation of acerola (Mapighia glabra L.), stored under cold conditions. HigieneAlimentar Vol. 18(120):28-31.