Abebe Mengesha Wendawek

• PhD Associate Professor
• Professor (Associate) at Addis Ababa University

Enset is a staple crop for over 20 million people in southwestern Ethiopia. We generated a new chromosome-level genome assembly, and sequenced 65 wild and 658 cultivated individuals. We unexpectedly find that 214 cultivated individuals are triploid, from multiple origins. Landrace names consistently differentiate diploids from the triploids, which...

The global biodiversity crisis in agriculture is overlooked compared with that in wild systems. This must change if we are to safeguard domesticated plant diversity and meet global sustainable development and biodiversity goals. In this Perspective, we review tools developed through decades of wild biodiversity conservation and provide a framework...

The global biodiversity crisis in agriculture is overlooked compared with that in wild systems. This must change if we are to safeguard domesticated plant diversity and meet global sustainable development and biodiversity goals. In this Perspective, we review tools developed through decades of wild biodiversity conservation and provide a framework...

Several strains of Leishmania parasite are involved in the occurrence of leishmaniasis infections, which makes its prevention and treatment very challenging. Currently, all forms of leishmaniasis are being treated with chemical drugs, which have limitations and adverse effects. Discovering antileishmanial agents from natural sources can lead to nov...

Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seed oil has been used for its medicinal and aromatic values. Some studies revealed the presence of variability among N. sativa genotypes in seed oil content and yield. In Ethiopia, very few studies were conducted to investigate the variability of N. sativa genotypes by using biochemical traits. Thus, this study was...

Several bio-actors are involved in the occurrence of leishmaniasis, which is made too complex for prevention and control options. Currently, all forms of leishmaniasis are being treated with chemical drugs, which have limitations and adverse effects on patients. Searching the bioactive molecules from plant sources allows the development of a novel...

as well as seed yield and yield-related qualitative traits by 4-41% over improved varieties by the selection of the top 5% landraces. Thus, through selection, it would also be possible to shorten the flowering and maturity periods of the genotypes. High broad sense heritability values coupled with high to moderate genetic advance as a percentage of...

Agrobiodiversity is critical for human survival and wellbeing, yet is at risk of rapid and global decline. Maintaining agrobiodiversity generates private and public benefits, including climate resilience, food security and economic development opportunities. However, the costs of maintaining such public goods often fall on poor smallholder farmers...

Societal Impact Statement The global success and expansion of a small pool of major crops, including rice, wheat and maize, risks homogenising global agriculture. Focusing on the agriculturally diverse Ethiopian Highlands, this study tested whether farm diversity tends to be lower among farmers who grow more introduced crops. Surprisingly, it was f...

Clonal propagation enables favourable crop genotypes to be rapidly selected and multiplied. However, the absence of sexual propagation can lead to low genetic diversity and accumulation of deleterious mutations, which may eventually render crops less resilient to pathogens or environmental change. To better understand this trade-off, we characteriz...

This study was conducted to investigate the variability of Ethiopian black cumin genotypes by using morpho-agronomic traits. Sixty-four genotypes were tested at Debre Zeit and Kulumsa Agricultural Research center in 2021 using an 8 × 8 simple lattice design with two replications. Analysis of variance revealed significant (p ≤ 0.001 or p ≤ 0.01) dif...

Societal Impact Statement Climate resilient crops will become increasingly important, especially in regions where smallholder farmers are vulnerable to climate extremes. Enset, a multipurpose perennial staple crop consumed by over 20 million people in Ethiopia, purportedly provides food security during periods of drought. Here, we find evidence tha...

Enset Genetics/Genomics

Enset Genomics/Genetics

A prior information on the distribution of ABO and Rh groups is important for management of blood bank and transfusion, genetic counseling, anthropological studies, to study the association of blood groups and diet; to investigate the association between blood and diseases. This study aimed to determine the frequency of ABO and Rh bloods and invest...

27 • Crop diversity plays a major role in underpinning food security. It is especially important to 28 smallholder and subsistence farmers, who often rely on crop diversity for stable and resilient 29 production. Despite this, global expansion of a small pool of major crops and the associated 30 homogenisation of global agricultural systems may dec...

Clonal propagation enables favourable crop genotypes to be rapidly selected and multiplied. However, the absence of sexual propagation can lead to low genetic diversity and accumulation of deleterious mutations, which may eventually render crops less resilient to pathogens or environmental change. To better understand this trade-off, we characteris...

Smallholder farms in the semi-arid and sub-humid tropics are particularly vulnerable to increased climate variability. Indigenous agrisystems that have co-evolved with climate variability may have developed resilience strategies. In the Southwest Ethiopian Highlands, agrisystems are dominated by the multipurpose perennial staple enset ( Ensete vent...

The present study was carried out to investigate the diversity and use of medicinal plants, and to document the indigenous knowledge of the local community. The typical ethnobotanical methodologies were applied during the study. Eighty-one informants were selected by the preferential sampling of which 61 were males and 20 were females. The selected...

Background. Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) is an important staple crop for more than 20 million people in Ethiopia. Precise ethnobotanical information of intraspeci c enset diversity and local knowledge on how farmers maintain, manage, and bene t from enset genetic resources is imperative for the promotion, conservation, and improvemen...

Despite substantial growth in global agricultural production, food and nutritional insecurity is rising in Sub-Saharan Africa. Identification of underutilised indigenous crops with useful food security traits may provide part of the solution. Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is a perennial banana relative with cultivation restricted to southwestern Ethio...

characterization of Dioscorea farmers' varaities

Despite substantial growth in global agricultural production, food and nutritional insecurity is rising in Sub-Saharan Africa. Identification of underutilised indigenous crops with useful food security traits may provide part of the solution. Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is a perennial banana relative with cultivation restricted to southwestern Ethio...

Background X-linked red-green color blindness is the most widespread form of vision impairment. The study aimed to determine the prevalence and allele frequencies of red-green color vision impairments among school children in Repi primary school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional survey was employed involving 2400 healthy subjects...

This study was conducted with the objective to investigate the diversity of wild and cultivated yams based on morphological characters and to assess its correspondence with folk taxonomy. The local classification system in Southwest Ethiopia was studied by recording attributes of each landrace used in the folk taxonomy. Farmers differentiate variou...

The far Southwest Ethiopians transplant wild plant species to their gardens. One of such plant is the Dioscorea that we studied to assess the knowledge of wild yam and process of domestication. The study links two types of evidence to obtain insight about the process of yam domestication. We analyze two data sets derived from (1) ethnobotanical sur...

Background In Southwest Ethiopia, various plant species are coexisting in wild and cultivated forms. This provides an ideal setting for studying folk biosystematics of neglected species. One of such species is the Dioscorea species, in which we studied to assess the commonly applied folk wisdom of identifying, naming, and classifying yams by Sheko...

Biodiesel was prepared by extracting oil from Cladophora glomerata green algae followed by transesterification of the oil using NaOH as a catalyst. The algae Oil extraction was carried out using two different techniques (Soxhlet and refluxing) and similar oil yield was obtained (23-24%). The resulting biodiesel showed desirable physical and chemica...

Mapping the distribution of crop pests and pathogens is essential to safeguard food security and sustainable livelihoods. However, these data are unavailable for many neglected and underutilised crops, particularly in developing countries. In Ethiopia, the world's largest historic recipient of food aid, the indigenous banana relative enset (Ensete...

An ethnobotanical study of indigenous knowledge on the uses of medicinal plant species was conducted from December 2017 to March 2018 in Gasera district of Bale Zone, Oromia Regional State. The objective of the study was to document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used to treat human and livestock ailments, threats and conservation status...

Summary Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) is the major starch staple of the Ethiopian Highlands, where its unique attributes enhance the food security of approximately 20 million people and have earned it the title “The Tree Against Hunger”. Yet enset-based agriculture is virtually unknown outside of its narrow zone of cultivation, despit...

Supporting Information

Background: Enset (Ensete ventricosum, Musaceae) is an African crop that currently provides the staple food for approx. 20 million Ethiopians. Whilst wild enset grows over much of East and Southern Africa and the genus extends across Asia to China, it has only ever been domesticated in the Ethiopian Highlands. Here, smallholder farmers cultivate hu...

This study was conducted in Tore plantation forest in Gelana district, South Ethiopia. The major objectives of the study were to assess the diversity and density of the naturally regenerated tree species under the canopy of the plantation. Systematic sampling method was employed to collect vegetation data from 40 quadrants of size 20m x 20m at 100m...

This study was conducted to investigate the floristic composition of woody species in Lammo natural Forest, Tembaro woreda, Kembata-Tembaro zone, Southern Ethiopia. 52 quadrants, each with 20 m x 20 m (400 m 2) were systematically laid to collect vegetation data along line transects at the distance of 60m from each other. Vegetation structures such...

Trees, shrubs, herb and grasses are the basic components of the home garden agroforestry systems in Ethiopia and have been practiced for a long time. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate woody plants species diversity of home garden agroforestry in three agroecological zones of Dilla zuria district in Gedeo zones. Quadrant of 20×20m was...

This study was conducted in Magada Forest, Bule-Hora District, Borena Zone, Oromia Region, Southern Ethiopia. The main objective of the study was to investigate diversity and vegetation structure of trees and shrubs in the forest. Systematic sampling method was used to collect vegetation data. Accordingly, 35 quadrats, each with 20 m x 20 m (400 m...

This study was conducted on Boda Forest in West Showa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, west Ethiopia with the objective of determining the floristic composition, species diversity and the vegetation structure of the woody plant communities in Boda natural forest. Systematic sampling method was used to collect the vegetation data. Accordingly,...

The floristic composition and structure of the woody vegetation along the Lagadara River in southern Ethiopia were assessed. Data were collected from 50 sample plots between February to March 2012 using a systematic sampling design. We found 76 woody plant species from 39 families within the plots. The most diverse families were Euphorbiaceae, Faba...

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) rank as the world’s most important root and tuber crop after potatoes, cassava and sweet potatoes. Despite their cultural and economic importance there is taxonomic confusion regarding Guinea yams. The current classification does not consistently delimit species boundaries between Guinea yams (D. cayenensis Lam.–D. rotundata P...

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) rank as the fourth most important root and tuber crop after potatoes, cassava and sweet potatoes. They are an economic crop in most of the tropics especially in West Africa, which produces over 95 % of the world output. Despite their cultural and economic importance there is taxonomic confusion regarding Guinea yams. The curre...

Genetic diversity and population structure of Guinea yams and their wild relatives collected from south and south west Ethiopia were assessed using microsatellite markers. The total number of alleles amplified for the 7 loci studied was found to be 60, with an average of 8.6 alleles per locus. The average expected heterozygosity for the entire popu...

Yams (Dioscorea species L.) are among the most important of the tuber crops mainly cultivated in the tropics. They are also an important source of diosgenein, a starting material for the industrial production of sex hormones and steroidal drugs with pharmaceutical properties. Despite their cultural and economic importance, there are taxonomic confu...