Conservation of genetic resources for five traditional crops from Jazan, SW Saudi Arabia, at the KACST Gene-Bank.
Saudi J Biol Sci 2018;
26:1626-1632. [PMID:
31762637 PMCID:
PMC6864203 DOI:
10.1016/j.sjbs.2018.09.007]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The conservation of five traditional crops is an important aspect of achieving national food security. In the present study, we aimed to collect and conserve germplasm of five local crops from the Jazan region of southwestern Saudi Arabia: Sorghum: Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench); Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.); Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub). Forty-one seed accessions of these five crops were collected and tested to determine seed moisture content (MC%) and quality as indicators of their potential to survive during long-term dry storage at −18 °C (i.e. ex-situ conservation of genetic resources). Seed viability was assessed using germination tests, the tetrazolium chloride (TZ) test and X-ray imaging. Seeds of the five crops had very low MC% and high viability (fully developed embryos and germination >91%), indicating that they were of good quality and had high potential for long-term survival in gene banks. The genetic resources of these crops (seeds) have now been preserved at the gene-bank of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST-BGB), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Collapse