2019 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Mapping Genetic Diversity in Taro (C. esculenta) to Test Domestication Models
| Project/Area Number |
17H04614
|
|---|
| Research Institution | National Museum of Ethnology |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
Matthews Peter 国立民族学博物館, 超域フィールド科学研究部, 教授 (70281590)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
|
| Keywords | Asia / fieldwork / wild taro / Colocasia / Araceae |
|---|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Fieldwork and research discussions were carried out in three countries: India (15th September to 1st October 2019), Bangladesh (3rd to 8th November, 2019) and Thailand (13th to 24th January, 2020). The visit to India was hosted by Prof. A. Dasgupta (Department of Sociology, Delhi University), and included a visit to the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanical Garden. The visit to Bangladesh was hosted by Prof. Md. A. Hossain (Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bangladesh Agricultural University). The visit to Thailand was hosted by Prof. D. Sookchaloem (Department of Forest Biology, Kasetsart University). Wild taro populations were recorded in India, Bangladesh and Thailand. Work continued on DNA sequencing and analysis, ex situ observation of living plants of wild Colocasia species, and writing.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Active (and continuing) research contact was established with researchers in India, Bangladesh and Thailand. Wild taro populations were found to be abundant in West Bengal and Bangladesh (regions within the Gangetic plain and delta), and in the Chao Praya delta of Thailand (vicinity of Bangkok). Valuable samples for future analysis were received from Bangladesh and Thailand.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Collaboration will begin with Assoc. Professor WONG Sin Yeng, at the Universiti Malayasia, Sarawak, in order to pursue study of the wild taro species, C. esculenta and C. oresbia in Borneo. Based on the survey results from 2019, samples from a range of wild Colocasia species will be selected for full chloroplast genome analysis, in order to build a more informative phylogenetic model for the evolution of cultivated taro and its wild relatives. Papers submitted for publication in 2019 will be revised and resubmitted for publication in 2020.
|
Research Products
(4 results)
