Crop wild relatives of the brinjal eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i>): Poorly represented in genebanks and many species at risk of extinction

Abstract

The knowledge base upon which conservation of wild relative germplasm depends must take into account both taxonomic and phylogenetic advances. Beyond traditional research focus on close relatives of crops, we emphasize the benefits of defining a broad CWR genepool, and the importance of assessing threats to wild species when targeting localities for future collection of CWR to improve crop breeding in the face of environmental change.