ID: 613 / 102

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: GRAPEVINES (VITIS SPP.): A MODEL FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO CONSERVING AND USING CROP WILD RELATIVES

Abstract: Global viticulture is dependent upon North American grapevine species (Vitis spp.), which play an integral role in improving the cultivated grapevine (Vitis vinifera). Grapevines provide one of the most well-known examples of using crop wild relatives to improve domesticated crops. Rootstock from North American grapevines proved critical in providing phylloxera resistance to European grape production in the late 1800s. Today, North American grapevines continue to be used as rootstock and in breeding hybrid scions. North America is one of three major centers of grapevine diversity, with about 25 species and varieties native to the United States. Decades of work by many different groups have amassed significant resources for Vitis; however, currently there is no coordinated conservation strategy in place for native North American Vitis. This symposium highlights advances of the Conservation of North American Native Grapes working group, following an inaugural workshop held in November 2022. The multidisciplinary group is developing a comprehensive, complementary conservation strategy for North American native Vitis that aims to 1) complete conservation status assessments; 2) protect wild populations in situ; 3) conserve wild species in ex situ collections; 4) increase accessibility of germplasm accessions; and 5) raise public awareness about the importance of conserving native grapevines. The strategy integrates advances in phylogenetics, phenotypic characterization, breeding, and conservation gap analysis to prioritize in situ and ex situ conservation actions for North American Vitis. This approach can be used as a model to inform conservation strategies for other crop wild relatives.

Speaker 1: Anne Frances (United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service; Anne.Frances@usda.gov) & Wesley Knapp (NatureServe; wesley_knapp@natureserve.org) Tentative talk title "The conservation status of Vitis native to North America using both NatureServe and IUCN Red List Methodologies"

Speaker 2: Allison Miller (Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Saint Louis University; amiller@danforthcenter.org) Tentative talk title "Informing conservation strategies and enhancing breeding efforts through phenotypic characterization of North American Vitis species"

Speaker 3: Jun Wen (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Botany Department; wenj@si.edu) Tentative talk title "Using phylogenetic relationships and species delimitations of North American Vitis to inform crop breeding and conservation actions"

Topics (Up to three): Crops and Wild Relatives

Topic 2: Conservation Biology

Topic 3: Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics

Justification: Global food security depends on increasing crop yield, quality, and sustainability. Crop wild relatives (CWR) contain genetic resources important for breeding that enable crops to adapt to changing environments and emerging threats. However, CWR conservation often falls between goals of conservationists, who focus on rare species, and breeders, who target few species with desirable traits. The successful conservation of CWR hinges on an integrated, strategic, and multidisciplinary approach involving conservationists, systematists, breeders, land managers, and others. Based on years of collaborative work on North American native grapes, this symposium will showcase the benefits of working across disciplines to conserve CWR.