Workshop 5: Genetic erosion and
pollution assessment
methodologies
Brian Ford-Lloyd
and
Sónia Ricardo Dias
Objective: agree genetic erosion
and pollution assessment
methodologies for CWR
• How to assess and predict genetic erosion?
–Examine existing methodologies
• How to assess and predict genetic pollution
(transgenic crops, conventional crops and
introduced exotic species or aliens)?
–Few existing methodologies?
Assessing taxa on the CWR list
• There are currently around 20,000 species on the
list
• It will be impossible to assess all of them in terms
of erosion/pollution
• Also it will not be necessary
• Prioritisation for erosion/pollution assessment is
therefore necessary
• Simple methodologies, and in some cases,
molecular profiling, are required
• A hierarchy?
Workshop 2: Assessment of threat of
plant diversity loss and conservation
status for European wild crop relatives
• “...plant diversity loss...” is in effect genetic
erosion
• Workshops 2 and 5 are closely interlinked
• The outcomes of WS 5 should directly/indirectly
inform the work of WS 2, namely the “...potential
threat category for each of the CWR taxa...”
A chicken and egg situation
• What to do first?
• WS2 prioritisation and then more detailed
assessment of erosion/pollution
• OR
• WS5 erosion and pollution assessment:
methodologies for prioritising in WS2
Prioritisation - which taxa do we
assess in detail?
• Completion of WS 2 will highlight taxa
where more detailed assessment of genetic
erosion/pollution and subsequent
monitoring is needed
• The Red List threat category could be a
determining factor in choosing the level of
assessment of genetic erosion/pollution
Simple assessments of genetic
diversity?
• When we have determined taxa of greatest
importance and threat:
–
–
–
–
–
ecogeography?
Red listing?
Indicators? ....(2010)
taxonomy?
population biology/breeding systems?
Most precise methodologies?
• Molecular profiling
– which techniques?
• Changes in allele frequencies
– population genetics?
Session 1 presentations and
discussions:
• Political and legal issues
• Genetic erosion
– what do we mean by it? can we tolerate it? etc
• Genetic pollution
– what is it? are there advantages? etc
Session 2:
• Monitoring at the taxonomic level
– simple methods? Red data listing? place in
hierarchy?
• Monitoring at the population level
– simple techniques? habitat enforced changes in
population size? GIS? Red data listing?
reproductive biology?
• Monitoring at the gene level
– Techniques? Red data listing? what is feasible?
Session 3 Case studies:
• Agricultural crops
• Horticultural crops
•any special cases to
consider?
•any specific examples?
• Forestry
•any special needs?
Session 4: the way forward
• The CWR species list prioritisation
– how to prioritise the CWR list in relation to
erosion and pollution? recommendations?
• The hierarchy of methodologies
– what are the methodologies? are they
hierarchical?
• The future
– demands, prospects, opportunities?....2010?...
2010 Biodiversity Target - Focal
Areas
• “reducing the rate of loss of the components
of biodiversity, including:
– biomes, habitats and ecosystems
– species and populations
– genetic diversity”
• “Loss” is genetic erosion
• PGR forum can contribute to the 2010
CBD goals (2 & 3)