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Crop wild relatives (CWR) are wild species that are more or less genetically related to crops that can be used to introgress useful genes for improvement of productivity, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and quality of cultivated crops. They are important in crop improvement to achieve food security for an increasing population and to overcome the challenges caused by climate change and the new virulence of major diseases and pests. These genetic resources are increasingly threatened in their natural habitats through over-exploitation and land reclamation and degradation. Therefore, their efficient and effective conservation would be taxonomically and genetically valuable and will contribute to maintaining and promoting the sustainability of crop diversity, facilitating agricultural production and supporting the increasing demand for food, feed and natural resources. A checklist of 5780 Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) taxa from North Africa was obtained using the CWR Catalogue for Europe and the Mediterranean (PGR Forum). Of which consists 76% of the flora of North Africa. The checklist contains 5588 (~97%) native taxa and 192 introduced. Families with higher taxa richness are Fabaceae, Asteraceae, and Poaceae. These three families constitute more than 33% of the total taxa included in the checklist. About 9% (502) CWR taxa identified as a priority for conservation in North Africa using four criteria, the economic value of the crop, the relatedness degree of wild relatives to their crop, threat status using IUCN red list assessment, and finally the centre of origin and/or diversity of the crop. Of these, 112 taxa were assigned high, 268 medium and 122 low priorities for effective conservation. Those assessed as threatened using IUCN Red list and national assessment represent approximately 2% (119 taxa) of the CWR in the region. However, 21 taxa are assessed as critically endangered (CR), 53 as endangered (EN), and 45 as vulnerable (VU). Wild relatives of some globally important crops are present, with those related to wheat (Triticum aestivum L. and T. durum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) among the highest priority crops for the North Africa region. Amongst CWR assessed as threatened, only 8 (6.7%) CWR are related to food crops, Avena agadiriana B.R. Baum. et G. Fedak (VU), A. atlantica B.R. Baum et G. Fedak (VU), A. murphyi Ladiz. (EN), Beta macrocarpa Guss. (EN), Olea europaea subsp. maroccana Guss. (VU), Rorippa hayanicaMaire (VU) and Aegilops bicornis (Forssk.) Jaub. et Spach (VU). The wild relative of Safflower Carthamus glaucus M. Bieb is restricted to Egypt and Libya and assessed as rare in Egypt. The information available about the conservation and threat status of CWR in North Africa still lags behind, and more investigations are required.

Seed coat color is probably a determinant factor in the antibiosis mechanism of developing resistance to safflower fly (Acanthiophilus helianthi). The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the phytochemical content of safflower (Carthamus spp.) seed coat extract with the seed coat color and the damage caused by safflower fly. To this end, germplasm consisting of the cultivated species (C111, with a white seed coat), the wild species (Glaucus and lanatus with a black seed coat; Azar with a brown seed coat), and a breeding line (A82 with a black seed coat) was formed. After cultivating the genotypes, the seed loss (%) and its relationship with the polyphenolic compounds and Cyanidin-3-glucoside of the seed coat extract were examined. Agricultural and phytochemical trait data were analyzed through a completely random block design. With a significant difference from other samples, a minimum damage percentage was observed in Lanatus, Glaucus, and A82 genotypes with a black coat (P < 0.05). The concentration of phenolic compounds, that is, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and p-coumaric acid, except for ferulic acid, was almost equal in all genotypes. However, there was an inverse and direct relationship between the concentration of four polyphenolic compounds (rutin, apigenin, quercetin, and ferulic acid) and Cyd-3-glu content with resistance safflower fly, respectively. In general, flavonoid compounds, that is, rutin, quercetin, and apigenin, affect the resistance probably through antibiosis mechanism so that there was a negative relationship between the concentration of these compounds and resistance to safflower fly.

In the present study, we used 39 plant samples representing six Carthamus taxa collected from different regions of Turkey: 11 of C. dentatus , 5 of C. glaucus , 18 of C. lanatus , 3 of C. persicus , 1 of C. tenuis subsp. tenuis and 1 of C. tenuis subsp. gracillimus. On these samples, we screened nine ISSR markers for polymorphic products. We generated 151 polymorphic bands. In a dendrogram based on these ISSR bands, the first branch was C. tenuis subsp. gracillimus , then C. persicus formed the second group. The rest of the taxa were grouped in two clusters: the first included C. lanatus, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis and C. glaucus , and the second included C. dentatus . Within the first cluster, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis and C. glaucus grouped together and then united to C. lanatus. Representatives of the same taxa consistently clustered together. Also within species, the groupings were generally concordant with their geographical distributions.