麻豆淫院

A research collaboration between The University of Warwick, the Smithsonian Institution and Embrapa (Brazilian agricultural research), has shown that thousands of years of farming myths and cultural traditions have been key to the survival of the cassava crop (the source of tapioca).

Cassava (also called Yuca or Manioc) is a root vegetable that feeds around a billion people worldwide. It thrives in poor soil, drought conditions and pest-prone environments, making it an essential crop in difficult climates. It is grown worldwide via stem cuttings, a method that produces new cassava plants that are genetic clones of the original. Clonal planting is expected to result in low genetic diversity, which leads to plants becoming vulnerable to diseases.

In the article published in , analysis of the genomes of more than 500 modern, herbarium and archaeological cassava plants found the cassava genome to be extraordinarily diverse for a clonal crop.

To understand how this genetic diversity arose, researchers looked to Indigenous Brazilian farmers for answers. Through interviews, they found that local cultural practices and traditions have been responsible for creating and maintaining the varied cassava gene pool.

Senior author of this paper, Professor Robin Allaby of the University of Warwick, said, "This study really shows the importance of small-scale Indigenous farming to our global food security."

For example, Indigenous farmers discussed their belief in Kukurro, the caterpillar god with whom they decorate their farming implements. In Kukurro's honor, farmers occasionally plant stems of high-yielding and resilient cassava plants in close proximity in special "Kukurro houses." This enables seed-based sexual reproduction, resulting in "cassava from the sky," rescuing genetic diversity to the system.

Dr. Logan Kistler from the Smithsonian Institution and first author, said, "We wondered if this practice of cloning stem cuttings would keep diversity low, since reproducing by seed is a way of reshuffling the genetic deck and folding in new variation. We saw the total opposite: cassava has even more diversity than its wild relatives because of how people have prioritized and maintained diverse varieties."

Similar patterns of cassava diversity were found across the different areas of the Amazon region and Caribbean; this is unusual as regional genetic variation is common in widespread crops. This was explained by the farmers' reports of exchanging and trading cuttings of different cassava varieties, resulting in regional distribution of resilient and diverse crops.

This cultural practice is so ingrained that, as part of the marriage custom of the Brazilian Waur谩 people, new brides bring Cassava cuttings to their husband's village.

Dr. F谩bio de Oliveira Freitas, EMBRAPA researcher, said, "Stories and myths linked with crops are a strong part of Indigenous cultures. This kind of work shows how some myths can impact crop evolution, why it is so important to support those people and how much we still have to learn."

Developing our understanding of these Indigenous biodiversity practices could inform future breeding strategies, and bolster efforts in crop conservation and food security in difficult environments.