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Abstract Detail



Darwins' reversals: What we now know about Feralization and Crop Wild Relatives

Bagavathiannan, Muthukumar [1].

Feral Crops in Agricultural Landscapes: Case Studies with Alfalfa and Grain Sorghum.

Crop ferality, the ability of some crop species to establish self-perpetuating populations outside of managed cultivation, has significant ecological consequences in agricultural landscapes. During the process of domestication, some crop traits were retained to ensure successful production under adverse conditions, which also allow these crops to survive in natural and semi-natural habitats as feral populations. Dedomestication has also been suggested as a source of ferality. Two notable examples are alfalfa, a perennial and highly outcrossing forage species, and grain sorghum, an annual and predominantly selfing grain crop. Feral alfalfa populations have been typically observed in roadsides and other ruderal areas where alfalfa is extensively cultivated, especially in northern and western parts of the United States and throughout the Canadian Prairies. Feral alfalfa populations were shown to have evolved several adaptive traits such as cold tolerance, and can readily hybridize with cultivated alfalfa in agricultural landscapes, leading to escape of novel traits. With respect to grain sorghum, feral populations have been documented along grain transportation routes in South Texas where they co-exist with the compatible weedy/wild relative johnsongrass. About 25% of the grain sorghum seed harvested from commercial hybrids exhibit male sterility, further favoring outcrossing and novel trait movement. Appropriate management of feral crop populations in agricultural landscapes is vital for effective confinement of novel traits.


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1 - Texas A&M University, Soil and Crop Sciences, 370 Olsen Blvd, HEEP 2474, College Station, Texas, 77843, USA

Keywords:
Crop wild relatives
dedomestication
novel trait confinement
transgenes.

Presentation Type: Colloquium Presentations
Session: C03, Darwins' reversals: What we now know about Feralization and Crop Wild Relatives
Location: /
Date: Tuesday, July 20th, 2021
Time: 11:30 AM(EDT)
Number: C03007
Abstract ID:893
Candidate for Awards:None


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