Diversity and conservation of the Triticeae genetic resources
小麦族遗传资源的多样性及其保护

The tribe Triticeae Dumort. in the grass family (Poaceae) contains three of the world most important cereal crops, namely, wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ), barley (Hordeum vulgars L. ), and rye (Secale cerealeL. ), as well as many economically valuable forage grasses. Because the tribe Triticeae comprises a great number of species, covers a remarkably wide disribution area in the world, and inhabits various ecologicalenvironments, tremendous morphological and genetic variations are found between and within species in this tribe. As a vast reservoir of genetic resources, species in the Triticeae have a great potential for the improvement of wheat, barley, and rye varieties in the plant breeding programmes through transferring useful genes from wild to cultivated species. However, the present knowledge and investigation of biodiversity in the Triticeae is considerably insufficient, which largely affects the appropriate utilization of the genetic resources in the tribe. Nowadays, the change of the global environments makes some species of Triticeae in an endangered state. Therefore, it is very important and urgent to strengthen the further investigation of the genetic diversity in the Triticeae and to have effective strategy to the conservation of this vast genetic reservoir.