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An integrated approach combining genomics, genetics and agronomy to improve the European wheat and barley production


Norwich, United Kingdom
March 24, 2014

WHEALBI

Our Computational Genomics Group Leader Sarah Ayling and Head of Platforms and Pipelines Anthony Rogers attended the WHEALBI (Wheat and Barley Legacy for Breeding Improvement) project’s inaugural meeting, at INRA (The French National Institute for Agricultural Research) in Clermont-Ferrand, France. TGAC will be conducting the exome sequencing and variant calling for more than 500 diverse bread wheat accessions.

WHEALBILaunched in January 2014 for a five-year period, this project is funded by EU’s 7th Framework Programme for Research (FP7). It is coordinated by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA, France) and involves the best European laboratories working on wheat and barley, in fields ranging from genomics to agronomy.

The objective of WHEALBI is to strengthen bread wheat and barley production in Europe by enabling the development of new, productive varieties adapted to cropping systems that require lower inputs and which are health and environment friendly.

Challenges in temperate cereal improvement

Temperate small grain cereals are staple food for both people and animals. As a major element of an independent and sustainable agricultural economy, they represent more than half of the cultivated areas in Europe. Europe is the world’s number one producer of wheat and barley and plays an important role in international trade. Global demand is expected to increase by 40 to 50 per cent by 2050.

To meet projected demand without increasing agricultural area, it will be necessary to increase crop yield per hectare, while reducing the environmental impact of farming practices and the need in non-renewable resources (water, energy, nutrients…). However, yield improvement, which was approximately 1 per cent per year between 1950 and 1990, has now slowed considerably and is close to zero – particularly in European countries where yields are already very high. To remain a major agricultural producer and contribute to the global food ‘Grand Challenge’, Europe must rely on innovation to develop efficient and sustainable varieties and cropping systems.

An integrated approach combining genomics, genetics and agronomy

To meet these agricultural and environmental challenges, WHEALBI will combine multidisciplinary and integrative approaches to identify, understand and utilise the rich sources of diversity locked in both landraces and crop wild relatives (CWR’s) for crop improvement. Many genetic resources conserved in gene banks will be analysed by sequencing most of the gene containing regions of the genome (exome). This will be one of the first exercises of its kind in the world at this scale, with over 1,000 wheat and barley lines studied.

The same materials will be tested in field experiments and on precision phenotyping platforms. Data generated will be organised in databases that will be made accessible to the international scientific community to use and to study study, for example, (i) genome-wide signatures of selection (identification of chromosomal regions that reflect genetic progress), (ii) associations between DNA polymorphism and adaptive traits and, (iii) new variants of interest for plant breeding. Bioinformatics tools will be developed to use the datasets generated and provide tools for decision making in plant breeding. New genetic constructs (ideotypes or experimental varieties combining favourable traits for a highly productive and environment friendly agriculture, such as stress adaptation, disease tolerance…) will be tested in innovative cropping systems, particularly with low level of inputs (nitrates, pesticides), little tillage (energy savings, carbon storage in organic matter, erosion control) and organic farming.

WHEALBI partnership (location)


WHEALBI partnership (location)

 

Organisation

Country

Main contact

1.

Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)

France

Gilles Charmet

2.

The James Hutton Institute (JHI)

UK

Joanne Russell

3.

Leibniz – Institut Fuer Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK)

Germany

Nils Stein

4.

Stichting dienst landbouwkundig onderzoek (DLO)

The Netherlands

Marco Bink

5.

Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia Agrartudomanyi Kutatokozpont (ATK)

Hungary

Marta Molnar

6.

Consiglio per la ricerca e sperimentazione in agricoltura (CRA)

Italy

Luigi Cattivelli

7.

The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC)

UK

Sarah Ayling

8.

Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen Deutsches Forschungszentrum Fuer Gesundheit und Umwelt Gmbh (HMGU)

Germany

Klaus Mayer

9.

University of Haifa (HU)

Israel

Tzion Fahima

10.

Parco Tecnologico Padano S.R.L (PTP)

Italy

Laura Rossini

11.

National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB)

UK

Nathan Morris

12.

Progressive farming trust LTD T/A the Organic Research Centre (ORC)

UK

Martin Wolfe

13.

Universitaet Zuerich (UZH)

Switzerland

Beat Keller

14.

KWS UK (KWS)

UK

Jacob Lage

15.

Società Italiana Sementi s.p.a (SIS)

Italy

Stefano Ravaglia

16.

INRA Transfert S.A. (IT)

France

Ronan Pendu

17.

ARCADIA International (AI)

Belgium

Sébastien Crépieux

18.

The Hebrew university of Jerusalem (HUJI)

Israel

Yehoshua Saranga

 



More news from: Earlham Institute


Website: http://www.earlham.ac.uk

Published: March 24, 2014

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