Tag: biodiversity and conservation

Vavilov collected not less than 26,000 varieties of wheat alone, were kept in cultivation at Leningrad. These collections formed the basis for new theories on the origin of cultivated plants and laid the foundation for the future improvement of crop plants and of one of the largest and oldest seed banks in the world today.

Germplasm is a term used to describe living genetic resources such as seeds or tissue, maintained for the purpose of breeding, preservation, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of seed collections stored in seed banks, trees growing in nurseries, animal breeding lines maintained in animal breeding programs or gene banks, etc. Germplasm collections can range from collections of wild species to elite, domesticated breeding lines that have undergone extensive human selection.
Holstein-Friesian (HF) gene bank collections were established in France  to conserve genetic diversity for this breed. The cryobanks have captured substantial amounts of genetic diversity for the HF compared with the current populations. A substantial part of the US, French, and Dutch collections seems to be genetically similar. On the other hand, the US collection in particular represents an interesting reservoir of HF genes of the past. Gene banks can play an important role in conserving genetic diversity within livestock breeds over time, and may support industry in the future when needed.

The Rht - B1b and Rht - D1b are dwarfing genes, derived from Norin - 10. Norin - 10, which was a semi - dwarf variety bred in Japan and released in 1935. Norin - 10 was used in order to improve lodging resistance in winter wheat. 

DNA probes are stretches of single-stranded DNA used to detect the presence of complementary nucleotide sequences (target sequences) by hybridization. Genomic library comprises large number of genes in the form of different nucleotide sequences of DNA fragments and they can be selected with the help of DNA probes.

Ecological hot spots are large areas of Earth's land surface which have high concentrations of plant endemism and also experience high rates of habitat loss. In India, 4 ecological hot spots are presently identified. The Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Indo-Burma region and the Sundaland constitute the biodiversity hot spots in our country. One of the major features of these places is the presence of numerous endemic species.

• A biodiversity hotspot is an area which has lost at least 70 per cent of its primary native vegetation 

• It contains at least 1,500 species of vascular plants which are endemic.

• There are currently 36 recognized biodiversity hotspots.

• These are Earth’s most biologically rich yet threatened terrestrial regions.

• The hotspots provide crucial ecosystem services for human life, such as provision of clean water, pollination and climate regulation.
  

• Conservation in the hotspots promotes sustainable management of these essential natural resources and supports economic growth, which also reduces drivers of violent conflict.
  

• So, the answer is in-situ conservation.

• A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction.
• The term biodiversity hotspot specifically refers to biologically rich areas around the world that have lost at least 70 per cent of their original habitat.
• There are 34 biodiversity hot spots across the globe, among which three occur in India such as the Western Ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma (North East India) and the Himalayas.
  
• Hence Western ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo Burma and Himalaya are Hot Spots of biodiversity in India.ervo
• So, the correct answer is 'The Western Ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo Burma and Himalaya'.

Ecological hot spots are large areas of Earth's land surface which have high concentrations of plant endemism and also experience high rates of habitat loss. In India, 4 ecological hot spots are presently identified. The Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Indo-Burma region and the Sundaland constitute the 4 biodiversity hot spots in our country. One of the major features of these places is the presence of numerous endemic species.

If we accept May's global estimates only 22% of the total species have been recorded so far. If May's proposal for discovery of new species is accepted then there are probably more than 1,00,000 plant species and more than 3,00,000 animal species yet to discovered and described.

Species diversity is the variety in the number and richness of the species of a region, Western Ghats have greater amphibian species diversity as compared to eastern ghats.