Abstract
Genetic resources are the biological basis of global food security. Collection and preservation of wild relatives of important crop species such as sunflower provide the basic foundation to improve and sustain the crop. Acquisition through exploration is the initial step in the germplasm conservation process. There are 53 species of wild Helianthus (39 perennial and 14 annual) native to North America. An exploration covering 3,700 km to the desert southwest United States in mid-June of 2015 led to the collection of five populations of H. deserticola (desert sunflower) and 10 H. anomalus (sand sunflower) accessions. All populations were collected throughout the broad distributional range of the species. Based on sand sunflower’s occurrence in desert sand dune habitats of Utah and Arizona, it frequently has been recognized as drought tolerant, with the largest achenes of any wild species and relatively high oil concentration potential, and thus is a candidate for improving cultivated sunflower. Desert sunflower is a xerophytic annual species found in sandy soils underlain with clay soils on the floor of the Great Basin Desert in small populations in western Nevada, west central Utah, and along the border of Utah and Arizona. Population size, habitat, soil type, seed set, the presence of diseases and insects, and other wild sunflower species located near the collection sites were recorded for each population. This germplasm will be important now and in the future as a genetic resource for the global sunflower crop and at the same time conserve it for future generations.
Funding statement: This research was funded by the USDA-ARS, Plant Exchange Office, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, MD and USDA-ARS CRIS Project No. 5442-21000-034-00D. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this report is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers, as well as Dr. Larry Campbell for their helpful comments which improved this manuscript.
References
Anderson, P.K., Cunningham, A.A., Patel, N.G., Morales, F.J., Epstein, P.R., Daszak, P., 2004. Emerging infectious diseases of plants: Pathogen pollution, climate change and agrotechnology, drivers. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 19(10): 535–544.10.1016/j.tree.2004.07.021Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Bowsher, A.W., Milton, E.F., Donovan, L.A., 2016. Comparison of desert-adapted Helianthus niveus (Benth.) Brandegee ssp. tephrodes (A. Gray) Heiser to cultivated H. annuus L. for putative drought avoidance traits at two ontogenetic stages. Helia 39(64): 1–19.10.1515/helia-2016-0003Search in Google Scholar
Brouillette, L.C., Donovan, L.A., 2011. Relative growth rate and functional traits of a hybrid species reflect adaption to a low fertility habitat. International Journal of Plant Sciences 172(4): 509–520.10.1086/658925Search in Google Scholar
Castañeda-Álvarez, N.P., Khoury, C.K., Achicanoy, H.A., Bernau, V., Dempewolf, H., Eastwood, R.J., Guarino, L., Harker, R.H., Jarvis, A., Maxted, N., Müller, J.V., 2016. Global conservation priorities for crop wild relatives. Nature Plants 2: 16022.10.1038/nplants.2016.22Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Gross, B.L., Rieseberg, L.H., 2005. The ecological genetics of homoploid hybrid speciation. Journal of Heredity 96: 241–252.10.1093/jhered/esi026Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Gross, B.L., Schwarzbach, A.E., Rieseberg, L.H., 2004. Origin(s) of the diploid hybrid species Helianthus deserticola (Asteraceae). American Journal of Botany 90: 1708–1719.10.3732/ajb.90.12.1708Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Hajjar, R., Hodgkin, T., 2007. The use of wild relatives in crop improvement: A survey of development over the last 20 years. Euphytica 156: 1–13.10.1007/s10681-007-9363-0Search in Google Scholar
Heiser, C.B., 1947. Hybridization between the sunflower species Helianthus annuus and H. petiolaris. Evolution 1: 249–262.10.1111/j.1558-5646.1947.tb02722.xSearch in Google Scholar
Heiser, C.B., 1958. Three new annual sunflowers (Helianthus) from the southwestern U.S. Rhodora 60: 272–283.Search in Google Scholar
Heiser, C.B., Smith, D.M., Clevenger, S.B., Martin, W.C., 1969. The North American sunflower (Helianthus). Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 22: 1–218.Search in Google Scholar
Kane, N., Burke, J., Marek, L., Seiler, G.J., Vear, F., Baute, G., Knapp, S., Vincourt, P., Rieseberg, L., 2013. Sunflower genetics, genomics and ecological resources. Molecular Ecology Resources 13: 10–20.10.1111/1755-0998.12023Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Kantar, M.B., Sosa, C.C., Khoury, C.K., Castañeda-Álvarez, N.P., Achicanoy, H.A., Bernau, V., Kane, N.C., Marek, L., Seiler, G., Rieseberg, L.H., 2015. Ecogeography and utility to plant breeding of the crop wild relatives of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Frontiers in Plant Sciences 6: 841.10.3389/fpls.2015.00841Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Ludwig, F., Rosenthal, D.H., Johnston, J.A., Kane, N., Gross, B.L., Lexar, C., Dudley, S.A., Rieseberg, L.H., Donovan, L., 2004. Selection on leaf ecophysiological traits in a desert hybrid Helianthus species and early generation hybrids. Evolution 58(12): 2682–2692.10.1111/j.0014-3820.2004.tb01621.xSearch in Google Scholar
Marek, L.F. 2016. Sunflower genetic resources. In: Proc 19th Int. Sunflower Conf., Edirne, Turkey, May 29–June 3, 2016. International Sunflower Association, Paris, France, pp. 31–44.Search in Google Scholar
Nabhan, G., Reichhardt, K.L., 1983. Hopi protection of Helianthus anomalus, a rare sunflower. Southwest Naturalist 28: 231–235.10.2307/3671392Search in Google Scholar
Rieseberg, L.H., 1991. Homoploid reticulate evolution in Helianthus (Asteraceae): Evidence from ribosomal genes. American Journal of Botany 78: 1218–1237.10.1002/j.1537-2197.1991.tb11415.xSearch in Google Scholar
Rogers, C., Thompson, T., Seiler, G.J., 1982. Sunflower Species of the United States. National Sunflower Association, Bismarck, North Dakota, USA.Search in Google Scholar
Schilling, E.E., 2006. Helianthus. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (eds.) Flora of North America North of Mexico. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, Vol. 21, pp. 141–169.Search in Google Scholar
Seiler, G.J., 1992. Utilization of wild sunflower species for the improvement of cultivated sunflower. Field Crops Research 30: 195–230.10.1016/0378-4290(92)90002-QSearch in Google Scholar
Seiler, G.J., 2007. Wild annual Helianthus anomalus and H. deserticola for improving oil content and quality in sunflower. Industrial Crops and Products 25: 95–100.10.1016/j.indcrop.2006.07.007Search in Google Scholar
Seiler, G.J., Brothers, M., 2003. Exploration for wild Helianthus anomalus and H. deserticola in the desert southwest USA. In: Proc 25th Sunflower Res. Forum. Fargo, ND, January 16–17. http://www.sunflowernsa.com/uploads/research/90/90.PDF.Search in Google Scholar
Seiler, G.J., Gulya, T.J., Marek, L., 2006. Exploration for wild Helianthus species from the desert southwestern USA for potential drought tolerance. Helia 29(49): 1–10.10.2298/HEL0645001SSearch in Google Scholar
Seiler, G.J., Jan, C.C., 2014. Wild sunflower species as a genetic resource for resistance to sunflower broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.). Helia 37(61): 129–139.10.1515/helia-2014-0013Search in Google Scholar
Seiler, G., Marek, L.F., 2011. Germplasm resources for increasing the genetic diversity of global cultivated sunflower. Helia 34(55): 1–20.10.2298/HEL1155001SSearch in Google Scholar
Seiler, G.J., Marek, L.F., 2016. Collection of wild Helianthus anomalus and deserticola sunflower from the desert southwest USA. In: Proc 19th Int Sunflower Conf., Edirne, Turkey, May 29–June 3, 2016. International Sunflower Association, Paris, France, pp. 253–262.Search in Google Scholar
Seiler, G.J., Rieseberg, L.H., 1997. Systematics, origin, and germplasm resources of wild and domesticated sunflower. In: Schneiter, A.A. (ed.) Sunflower Technology and Production. Crop Science Society of America, Madison, WI, pp. 21–65.10.2134/agronmonogr35.c2Search in Google Scholar
Thompson, T.E., Zimmerman, D.C., Rogers, C.E., 1981. Wild Helianthus as a genetic resource. Field Crops Research 4: 333–343.10.1016/0378-4290(81)90083-6Search in Google Scholar
Tyack, N., Dempewolf, H., 2015. The economics of crop wild relatives under climate change. In: Redden, R., Yadav, S.S., Maxted, N., Dulloo, M.E., Guarino, L., Smith, P. (eds.) Crop Wild Relatives and Climate Change. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey pp. 281–291.10.1002/9781118854396.ch16Search in Google Scholar
©2016 by De Gruyter
