Dynamic conservation of genetic resources: Rematriation of the maize landrace Jala
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Dynamic conservation of genetic resources: Rematriation of the maize landrace Jala Vanessa Ocampo-Giraldo 1 & Carolina Camacho-Villa 2 & Denise E. Costich 3 & Victor A. Vidal Martínez 4 & Melinda Smale 5 & Nelissa Jamora 6 Received: 8 February 2020 / Accepted: 12 June 2020 # International Society for Plant Pathology and Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The conservation of landraces is fundamental to safeguarding crop diversity, food security, and sustainable production. Jala is a special maize landrace from the region in and around the Jala Valley of Mexico that produces the largest ear and tallest plant of all maize landraces in the world. Changing socio-economic and environmental conditions in the Jala Valley could lead to the genetic erosion of the ancestral Jala landrace, which can have global consequences. This study outlines the sequence of events in the history of Jala and describes the evolution of strategies for complementary in situ and ex situ conservation of maize genetic resources that are being developed and tested by the Jala Rematriation Project. The concept of dynamic conservation is discussed and applied to the specific case of Jala. The rematriation approach could be instrumental in creating an environment that enables the dynamic conservation of maize landraces in Mexico, the primary centre of this crop’s origin and diversity, and throughout its ancestral range in the Americas. Keywords Ex situ . In situ . Genetic resources . Genetic diversity . Maize . Landrace
1 Introduction Maize (Zea mays L. subspecies mays) is intricately entwined with the cultural identity of Mexico, which has at least 59 native landraces of maize (Sanchez et al., 2000). The conservation of landraces is not only essential for safeguarding crop diversity but also for * Melinda Smale [email protected] * Nelissa Jamora [email protected] 1
Genebank Impacts Fellow, CGIAR Genebank Platform, Bonn, Germany
2
Socioeconomics Program, The International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT), Texcoco, Mexico
3
Maize Collection @ The Maize and Wheat Germplasm Bank, The International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT), Texcoco, Mexico
4
National Institute of Forestry, Crop and Livestock Research (INIFAP), Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit, Mexico
5
Michigan State University, East Lansing, VA, USA
6
Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust), Bonn, Germany
sustainable development in rural areas (Bellon et al., 2017). Landraces have particular agronomic and consumption traits that contribute to nutritional needs and are adapted to the cultural diversity of Mexican communities (Ortega-Paczka, 2003; Bellon and Hellin, 2011). Landraces are also an integral part of the diets and rituals of many communities (Altieri and Merrick, 1987; Brush, 2000). The genetic structure of landraces has been shaped by evolutionary processes and by farmers’ selection and management practices, resulting in adaptations to changing environments over generations of cultivation. In addition, landraces harbour uni
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