Priority areas for the establishment of genetic reserves to actively protect key crop wild relatives

Prior to the project PRO-WILD, work was carried out at the University of Perugia, to identify priority areas for the establishment of genetic reserves for the active conservation of crop wild relatives. As a partner in the PRO-WILD project, their focus has now been extended from the protection of CWR diversity in Italy to the whole of Europe. Their previous knowledge and now joined forces with other experts represent a great opportunity for meaningful work in biodiversity conservation.

Ecogeographic Land Characterisation (ELC) map of the Italian territory and geographical distribution of the proposed candidate sites for the institution of genetic reserves in Italy.

Figure 1: Ecogeographic Land Characterisation (ELC) map of the Italian territory divided into 27 categories (left). Geographical distribution of the proposed candidate sites for the institution of genetic reserves in Italy (right). Map drawn to Geographic Coordinate System: WGS84. Modification da Raggi, et al. "Priority areas for the establishment of genetic reserves to actively protect key crop wild relative species in Italy." Global Ecology and Conservation 50 (2024).

Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) are wild plant taxa genetically close to a crop. Being a precious source of genetic variability and of traits for crop improvement, CWR have a high socio-economic value and are identified among the main plant genetic resources. It has been estimated that, since 1945, around 30% of crop yield improvement derived from the use of CWR in breeding, which corresponds to a value of around US $100 billion worldwide. Alarming enough, their inter- and intraspecific diversity, as well as their habitat diversity, are under threat of irremediable loss.

CWR conservation in their natural habitat (i.e. in situ conservation) inside protected areas appears to be the most effective protection strategy for these wild taxa. Indeed, this approach allows populations to continue to evolve, favouring their adaptation to the changing climate and environmental conditions, which is especially relevant in the current climate change scenario.

In a previous study, UNIPG focused their interest on the protection of CWR diversity in Italy. The analysis of the taxa distribution and of different pedo-climatic conditions, and the application of the complementarity approach, resulted in the identification of the most suitable areas for the institution of genetic reserves for the active protection of multiple CWR taxa of the key genera Allium, Brassica and Triticum (Figure 1).

In the PRO-WILD project, the research is expanded to the whole European territory and the CWR taxa belonging to the key genera. including Aegilops, Beta, Brassica and Triticum. Considering that Europe is rich in diversity, such information is urgently needed for fruitful active protection of CWR diversity across the region and to facilitate its use in plant breeding, to successfully face current global food challenges. This is relevant also considering the global value of many of the crops related to the wild taxa target of this investigation, such as different wheat species, beets, cabbages, rape, and onion.

Contact

Dr Lorenzo Raggi
University of Perugia UNIPG
Borgo XX Giugno, 74. 06121 Perugia, Italy
lorenzo.raggi(at)unipg.it