Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute

Abstract Crop and varietal diversification are essential for African smallholder farmers to adapt to the complex and unprecedented challenges posed by climate change. Although African genebanks maintain seed collections of numerous crops, with thousands of varieties collected from their countries’ farmers, the direct use of these collections by farmers is very limited. Five African national genebanks therefore explored ways to strengthen farmers’ access to and use of these collections through a longer-term collaborative process. The genebanks and their partners engaged with ‘Germplasm User Groups’ as a basis for facilitating sustained joint learning with farmers for use of conserved germplasm. The structure of these groups and the methods they used for identifying and testing germplasm accessions, although differing by country context, all enabled a diversity of farmers to learn about a wide range of germplasm under relevant field conditions. The large number of accessions that farmers selected, their diverse advantages and the requests by numerous farmer groups to continue exploring additional crops and varieties indicated the usefulness of these approaches. These experiences revealed the feasibility and unique roles and opportunities for national genebanks to facilitate farmers’ direct use of the diversity conserved in their crop collections. National genebanks thus have unique responsibilities for adapting their operating procedures and partnering with research and development practitioners to facilitate farmers’ discovery and use of their conserved crop diversity.

• Three wild edible plants have been analyzed for biochemical composition. • In comparison to cultivated vegetable crops, leaves and shoots and fruits edibles of these plants had comparatively greater protein and total carbohydrate contents. • Of all the wild edible plants examined, Amaranthus tortuosus had the highest levels of iron, calcium, ash, and protein. • Among the analyzed plants, the highest phenolic, flavonoid, and vitamin C in Landolphia buchananii fruit. • The Landolphia buchananii extract had a comparable IC50 value with ascorbic acid in scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical. • Wild edible plants may continue the novel food products, which may be promising candidates for cultivation to diversify food sources. In Ethiopia, wild edible plants (WEPs) are widely consumed. Despite the extensive usage of WEPs in Ethiopia, there have been few investigations on their nutritional composition.This study aimed to investigate the biochemical composition and antioxidants of the most commonly consumed three WEPs, Amaranthus tortuosus, Landolphia buchananii , and Oncoba spinosa in Soro District, Ethiopia . The proximate, mineral, vitamin C, and oxalate of them were determined using the method by AOAC. Anti-nutrients, total phenolic and flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity of the WEPs using standard spectroscopic methods. The highest crude protein content (38 g/100 g) was observed in Amaranthus tortuosus . Other nutrients on dry basis of crude fat, crude fiber, utilizable carbohydrate, gross energy, calcium, iron and zinc, vitamin C were resulted., including anti-nutrients of phytate, oxalate and tannin. O. spinosa has higher anti-nutrient content. The highest phenolic, flavonoid, and vitamin C in L. buchananii fruit. The L. buchananii extract had a comparable IC50 value with ascorbic acid in scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical. At 200 μg/ mL, the highest percentage of DPPH inhibition obtained for ascorbic acid. This study indicated, WEPs had more antioxidants than some common popular crops; it suggests that they can be incorporated to make more nutrient-dense and healthy-balanced diets.

BackgroundMedicinal plants (MPs) remain to play a vital role in primary healthcare among rural communities. In Somaliland, knowledge of MPs remains under-documented, mainly in Sheikh District, Sahil Region. This study aims to document the diversity, uses, cultural importance, and conservation status of MPs in Sheikh District, while examining patterns of knowledge transmission, utilization, and threats, including cross-cultural comparisons with other Somali and East African regions.MethodsEthnobotanical information was collected using semi-structured interviews, guided field walks, and focus group discussions with 106 informants, including traditional healers, elders, and other community members. Quantitative indices Jaccard Similarity Index (JI), Rahman’s Similarity Index (RSI), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Fidelity Level (FL), preference ranking, and direct matrix ranking were employed to assess species importance, agreement, and multifunctionality. Statistical analyses conducted in R evaluated variation in knowledge across socio-demographic groups.ResultsA total of 54 medicinal plant species, representing 33 families, were recorded for treating ailments including gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory infections, malaria, diabetes, and dermatological and ocular conditions. Vachellia bussei (Harms ex Y.Sjöstedt) Kyal. & Boatwr., Balanites aegyptiaca var. aegyptiaca, and Melia azedarach L. exhibited the highest FL values (94%), while gastrointestinal and parasitic disorders showed the highest ICF (0.77), indicating strong consensus. Oral administration was the predominant route of use. Multipurpose species such as Vachellia spp. and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. faced high anthropogenic pressure due to fuelwood and construction demands. Knowledge was mainly transmitted orally, with older, male, and less formally educated informants demonstrating significantly greater expertise (P < 0.05). Cross-cultural comparison highlighted both locally unique uses and overlaps with ethnomedicinal practices in neighboring regions.ConclusionMPs in Sheikh District are critical not only for healthcare but also for food security, cultural continuity, and environmental sustainability. Urgent actions are recommended for conservation, sustainable harvesting, and systematic documentation of indigenous knowledge. Prioritizing pharmacological validation of culturally significant species can further support community health, biodiversity conservation, and policy development for sustainable management.

Mitochondrial genome evolution(MGE) in flowering plants is quasi-intertwined-dynamic. MGE is driven via mutational pressures, translational selection, and functional constraints. However, unveiling the intra- and inter-genomic interplay governing evolutionary drives remains challenging. We investigate MGE-dynamic across twelve Gentianales species, revealing distinct codon usage patterns influenced by opposing evolutionary forces. While the first and second codon positions are highly conserved, the third codon positions show significant variability (27.7% - 45.8%), reflecting diverse selective pressures. Multi-dimensional analyses, including ENc-GC3s plots, neutrality plots, and PR2 bias, indicate that natural selection predominantly governs codon usage, outweighing mutational biases. Key findings include, non-significant correlations between GC12 and GC3 (R2 ≤ 0.21), suggesting minimal mutational impact on genome composition; ENc-GC12 analysis showing codon optimization results from both selection and mutation; and PR2-plot analysis highlighting a preference for T- and G-ending codons, indicative of translational efficiency constraints. Gene-specific analyses of substitution rates (dN, dS, and dN/dS ) uncover heterogeneous selective landscapes, with genes such as atp, ccm, nad, and rps exhibiting signatures of positive selection. Substantial mutually offsetting dynamics between T3s and C3s (r = - 0.73), coupled with strong correlations between G3s and translational-efficiency indices (CAI: r = 0.69; CBI: r = 0.65), underscore that third-codon biases optimize translation. Evolutionary rates (dS and dN/dS ) show positive correlations with GC3 content (r = 0.45 and r = 0.33, respectively), indicating the influence of nucleotide composition on synonymous substitutions. Thus, these results reveal the interplay of the mutation-selection balance in non-recombining genomes and offer new perspectives on mitochondrial diversity in flowering plants.

Climate change significantly impacts the geographic distribution of plant habitats globally. This study aims to model and map the current and future distribution of the woodland forest tree Commiphora africana in Ethiopia under changing climate conditions. A MaxEnt model was used to predict the current and future potential spatiotemporal distribution of C. africana. Species occurrence data (409 field-based occurrence points) and environmental variables (19 bioclimatic and three topographic) were used to model the potential spatiotemporal distribution area under current and future representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) for the years 2050 and 2070. The predictive performance of the model was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, which has excellent results with an AUC value of more than 0.9. The result of the jackknife test revealed that precipitation of the coldest quarter (bio 19), annual temperature range (bio 07), and topography has a higher contribution to the model with 29.7%, 23.4%, and 9.8%, respectively. The current potential suitable area coverage revealed that highly suitable (8941.2 km2), moderately suitable (55,584.72 km2), low suitable (86,977.54 km2), and not suitable (981,752.9 km2), respectively. Moreover, with RCP 4.5 in 2050 and 2070, highly suitable areas will be 11,594.61 km2 and 13081.21 km2. Similarly, with RCP8.5 in 2050 and 2070, highly suitable areas will be 14,112.52 km2 and 12972.61 km2. This result indicates that the number of suitable areas for C. africana will increase as climate changes. The findings provide theoretical suggestions for protecting and conserving C. africana, a resource facing challenges due to global climate change.

The species group, including the West African Mimopacha rotundata Hering, 1941 (the type locality is in Senegal), and two Central African M. brunnea Hering, 1941 (the type locality is in Equatorial Guinea) and M. audeoudi Romieux, 1935 (the type locality is in the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo), was reviewed: 1) type specimens of all species were examined, dissected, and illustrated; 2) new collection localities were provided to all species based on additional non-type material; 3) the subspecies M. brunnea fusca Hering, 1941 synonymous to M. brunnea was moved in synonymy with M. audeoudi (syn. n.); 4) two new species were described from Sudan and South Sudan (M. brysoni sp. n.), and Ethiopia (M. bradyi sp. n.). Four species, apart from M. brunnea, were barcoded and used in phylogenetic reconstruction, all had interspecific p-distances above 4%.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important food security crop in Ethiopia. The low yield is caused in part by farmers using non-essential seed tuber size and poor agronomic management. This study aimed to examine the effects of seed tuber size and inflorescence removal on yield components and potato yield. A field experiment was carried out at the experimental site of General Tadese Biru Campus, Salale University. Three levels of inflorescence removal and seed tuber sizes each comprised the treatments. The RCBD with a 3x3 factorial arrangement and 3 replications was used for the study. The R software version 4.03 was used to experiment with data. The experimental results showed that the interaction of big seed tuber size and flower bud removal led to the highest total tuber yield (34.64 t ha-1). Large seed tuber size (46-55 mm) and inflorescence removal led to the highest marketable tuber yield (28.59 t ha-1). Marketable tuber yield correlated positively with steam number, plant height, tuber number, tuber yield, tuber weight, tuber diameter, tuber length, and total tuber, but negatively with days to emergence. As a result, big seed tuber size and inflorescence removal were preferable in terms of all yield-contributing characteristics and tuber yield, and medium seed tuber size was beneficial to the economic and agronomical feasibility of potato production. Because the study was limited to a single season and location, more research is needed to make viable recommendations.

Abstract The conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) is essential for global food and nutrition security, climate resilience and sustainable agriculture. This study presents a monitoring and evaluation (M&amp;E) framework applied across 20 countries in the Global South to assess the state of ex situ PGRFA conservation. Using mixed methods, we collected quantitative and qualitative data on genebank performance, validated operational status, and identified specific needs of genebanks. Our findings demonstrate the practical use of this M&amp;E framework for genebanks to assess efficiency and effectiveness in genebank management, while also guiding targeted capacity development and context-specific interventions to address persistent challenges. We recommend adopting the approaches described in this study, including genebank reviews and the review checklist, to support more systematic and evidence-based assessment of genebanks. Aligning national efforts with global conservation objectives will help generate actionable recommendations to strengthen genebanks and ensure the long-term conservation and availability of PGRFA.

BackgroundEkebergia capensis is a valuable tropical tree occurring on highlands of Ethiopia and used for traditional medicines, fodder for livestock and fruits are eaten by birds and other wild animals. However, it faces climate change threats and increased anthropogenic pressure, mainly, selective cutting for timber, firewood and expansions of agriculture across its range. Understanding the impacts of climate change on its suitable ranges is crucial to identify high-priority areas for its effective conservation and management plans. The study aimed to predict suitable habitats of Ekebergia capensis and examine factors influencing its distribution under current climate and future climate scenarios.MethodsWe used an ensemble modeling approach with 10 replications of five algorithms: BRT (boosted regression trees), RF (random forest), GLM (generalized linear model), GAM (generalized additive model), and Maxent (maximum entropy). Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), the true skill statistic (TSS), and visual assessment of ROC curves.ResultsThe AUC and TSS of the ensemble model are 0.88 and 0.68, respectively, showing a very good performance. The currently predicted suitable habitat for Ekebergia capensis covers an area of approximately 215,869.87 km², representing 19.05% of the country. Under climate projections for the 2050s based on emission scenarios, the range of this species will decline by 31.71% under the medium (SSP2-4.5) and by 33.56% under the worst-case (SSP5-8.5) scenario. In the 2070s, the suitable habitats of this species will decrease by 45.44% and 47.14% under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, respectively. Ekebergia capensis will lose a large portion of its suitable habitats between 2050s and 2070s, i.e., 16.92% under SSP2-4.5 and 15.24% under SSP5-8.5. This study suggests that southern, central, southwestern, and eastern highlands of Ethiopia provide suitable areas for the species. In contrast, suitable habitats in the northern part of the country will be either lost or fragmented in the future.ConclusionsOur findings show that climate change significantly affects the suitable habitats of Ekebergia capensis. Only selected parts of its current habitat will remain suitable, while others will be lost or become isolated in the future. This species has recalcitrant seeds and cannot be stored ex-situ. Therefore, conservation efforts should prioritize in situ strategies such as habitat restoration, reintroduction, and assisted migration across its range. In addition, combining in situ efforts with carefully selected ex situ methods could offer a more comprehensive approach to conserving this species.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-025-02437-0.

Societal Impact StatementCollections of dried plant specimens (herbaria) provide an invaluable resource for the study of many areas of scientific interest and conservation globally. Digitisation increases access to specimens and metadata, enabling efficient use across a broad spectrum of research. The value of physical specimens is enhanced by digitisation, but these specimens remain fundamental for the study of traits not yet captured digitally. We investigate the requirements for physical access and the curation and facilities needed to maximise specimen use and value. We present recommendations to ensure that specimens and data are both fully accessible to support research into global challenges.SummaryHerbarium management has traditionally focused on providing direct access to the physical specimens, but this scope must now expand to also embrace digital collections. Advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence and high‐throughput genomics are increasing the amount of information that can be extracted from specimens, and it is becoming commonplace to provide digital access to specimen images and collection metadata. These developments are facilitating the use of herbarium collections to inform conservation planning and in studies plant and fungal taxonomy, distribution and evolution. This paper examines how herbaria are transitioning from physical specimen‐centric collection management practices to increasingly digitised curation, and the effects that digital availability of data are having on demands for physical access. We provide a set of recommendations to institutions holding herbarium collections. We emphasise the critical importance of further digitising herbaria of all sizes; the need to ensure that historical inequalities in deposition of specimens are not perpetuated; and that the capacity to utilise new technologies must be further developed, especially in biodiverse regions from which most herbarium collections are derived.To improve access to collection data, herbarium managers need to more rigorously adopt community‐agreed data standards, and more strongly support open access platforms such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility either directly or through regional coalitions. As digitisation and open data access increase, herbaria will need to offer users with seamless hybrid access to physical and digital records while continuing to develop their collections to advance research and conservation.