GENETIC RESOURCES IN AGRICULTURE [CHAPTER 4]

         Genetic resources for food and agriculture are the raw materials upon which the world relies to improve the productivity and quality of crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries, as well as to maintain healthy populations of wild species. The conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture is therefore at the core of food security and nutrition. Conserving and using a wide range of diversity – both among species and within species – means securing options to respond to future challenges.

CENRE OF ORIGIN: a geographical area where a species (domesticated or wild), first developed its distinctive properties.

1) Mesoamerica : Maize                                      4) China : Apricot

2) Andes and South America : Tapioca              5) Africa : Coffee

3) Southeast Asia : Mango                                 6) Southwest Asia : Walnut

GERMPLASM

- a collection of genetic resources for an organism
- DNA of an organism through collection of materials

There a lot biological diversity such as:

1)Ecosystem diversity

2)Species diversity

3)Genetic diversity.

            Ecological diversity is a type of biodiversity. It is the variation in the ecosystems found in a region or the variation in ecosystems over the whole planet. Ecological diversity includes the variation in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecological diversity can also take into account the variation in the complexity of a biological community, including the number of different niches, the number of tropic levels and other ecological processes. An example of ecological diversity on a global scale would be the variation in ecosystems, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, wetlands and oceans. Ecological diversity is the largest scale of biodiversity, and within each ecosystem, there is a great deal of both species and genetic diversity.

            Species diversity is defined as the number of species and abundance of each species that live in a particular location. The number of species that live in a certain location is called species richness. If you were to measure the species richness of a forest, you might find 20 bird species, 50 plant species, and 10 mammal species.

   

A venomous green palm pit-viper waits for its prey

IMPORTANCE OF SPECIES DIVERSITY

There are numerous reasons why species diversity is essential. Each species has a role in the ecosystem. For example, bees are primary pollinators. Imagine what would happen if bees went extinct. Fruits and vegetables could be next, and subsequently the animals that feed off them - this chain links all the way to humans. Various species provide us not only with food, but also contribute to clean water, breathable air, fertile soils, climate stability, pollution absorption, building materials for our homes, prevention of disease outbreaks, medicinal resources, and more.

The cute olinguito hangs out in a tree

GENETIC OF DIVERSITY :