The Institute of Evolution Wild Cereal Gene Bank at the University of Haifa

Abstract

The Institute of Evolution Wild Cereal Gene Bank (ICGB) at the University of Haifa, Israel, harbors extensive collections of wild emmer wheat (WEW), Triticum dicoccoides, and wild barley (WB), Hordeum spontaneum, the primary progenitors of wheat and barley, respectively. The ICGB also includes minor collections of 10 species of Aegilops, wild oat (Avena barbata), and Brachypodium stacei and B. hybridum (previously distachyon). Here, we describe the WEW and WB collections, explain sampling strategies, and introduce related studies. Natural populations were sampled across Israel along aridity gradients, occurring from north to south and from west to east, and in local microsites with variable (or contrasting) ecological factors. The collection sites varied greatly in terms of climatic (rainfall, temperature and humidity), edaphic (soil types), and topography (altitude, slope) variables. Thus, the ICGB collections represent wild cereals adapted to a wide range of habitats and eco-geographical conditions. We have collected and preserved these unique gene pools since mid-70th, and further used them for theoretical and applied studies in population genetics, evolution, domestication, adaptation to local and regional habitats, and coping mechanisms for a plethora of biotic and abiotic stresses. Our studies revealed that WEW and WB populations from Israel harbor high adaptive genetic diversity that can serve as a reservoir of beneficial alleles to improve important agronomic traits such as disease resistance, drought tolerance and improved grain protein content. These mostly untapped genetic resources could contribute to increasing world food production for the constantly rising human population.