ARI Biennial Review for 2018-2019

showed the ability to germinate in up to 250 mM NaCl in the substrate, and their ability to recover after salt exposure may be interpreted as adaptation to the coastal habitats in which they generally grow. These results give this species a halo-tolerant character. Great interpopulation variability was detected in several aspects, which indicated that the Mediterranean populations of S. spinosum differ considerably and are adapted to their local conditions. Genetic and phenotypic characterisation carried out on durum wheat genetic resources revealed a clear separation among modern varieties and landraces. Landraces presented the highest genetic variation (average discriminating power of= 0.89) and a high number of private alleles (131) was detected, underlying the unique genetic mark-up of this genepool. AMOVA revealed that the highest variability was detected within the landraces originating from Cyprus and landraces from the broader Mediterranean basin. The Cypriot landrace ‘Kyperounda’ was selected for further evaluation of its intra-genetic variation, and it was determined that genetic diversity was higher in accessions conserved as sublines (He 0.643–0.731) than bulks (He 0.384–0.469). Bayesian analysis revealed substantial admixture within ‘Kyperounda’ accessions, depicted also by Principal Coordinate Analysis. These findings emphasise that high intra-genetic diversity is retained when landraces are conserved as sublines in ex situ collections, while landraces that are conserved as bulks have a higher risk of bottleneck. Hence, a more exhausting diversity evaluation is needed in order to fully utilise landraces in breeding schemes and to prevent the loss of genetic variation. Accessions of Avena ventricosa Balansa ex Coss., a species that is considered the C-genome donor of the cultivated hexaploid oat and is a ‘priority’ species for conservation, since it has limited geographic distribution and the only recorded populations in Europe are present in Cyprus, was selected for investigating its genetic variability. It was revealed that the genetic variety was mainly allocated among the populations, since clustering obtained was according to the geographic origin of the samples and the habitat. Species distribution modeling showed that the most important climatic variable defining A. ventricosa distribution is the mean diurnal temperature. Furthermore, significant association of the genetic structure to environmental variables was detected; overall, a negative association to precipitation was confirmed, while significant correlations of genetic structure and the temperature at the time of anthesis and germination were established. (A. Kyratzis) Conservation actions for threatened Mediterranean-island flora: ex situ and in situ joint actions CARE-MEDIFLORA aimed to improve the conservation status of threatened plant species of the Mediterranean. It was a project implemented by institutions of six Mediterranean islands and the IUCN/SSC Mediterranean Plant Specialist Group. The institutions involved were jointly addressing short-term and long-term conservation needs:  In situ conservation of endangered plant species of the Mediterranean islands through in situ management actions such as population reinforcement, species reintroduction, fencing, controlling pest plants and reconnecting isolated remnants.  Ex situ conservation of endangered plant species through seed collection and long-term storage in seed banks of accessions representative of the overall diversity within selected taxa. Previous and new seed collections were used to produce plant material for in situ management actions. The project supported networking among the project partners, institutions and authorities on each island and/or related initiatives at Mediterranean and wider international level, in order to contribute to the long-term effectiveness of plant conservation. Project results were shared with plant conservation specialists and local 32 VEGETABLE CROPS