Award details

A Community Resource for Wheat and Rice Transformation

Reference	BB/R014876/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Emma Wallington
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	National Inst of Agricultural Botany
Department	Centre for Research
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	1,054,979
Status	Current
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/10/2018
End date	30/09/2023
Duration	60 months

Abstract

In 2017, global wheat and rice production is forecast to reach 749 and 503 million tonnes respectively yet many millions of people reliant upon these crops, are living in food poverty. Wheat is the most important crop in the UK, with an average yield of 8-10 t/ha; if we are to double production over the next 40 years we will need all available technologies to achieve this goal, including genetic modification. The proposed resource will continue to provide plant scientists with access to the best public wheat transformation system currently available anywhere in the world and will provide access to an efficient rice transformation platform in the UK. The funding will allow the technology to advance, increasing the validated tools for precise gene expression in wheat and rice by increasing the number of characterised regulatory elements in both species. The objectives are; 1. To provide resources for the transformation of 100 novel genes, 75 into wheat and 25 into rice. We intend that the resource will be used by researchers working with genes from model species, and wheat researchers with genes to test. 2. To extend the number of regulatory elements which are characterised in wheat and rice. There are a relatively small number of promoter and terminator sequences which have been characterised, and are available to the academic community. This hampers the transfer of multigene traits or complex pathways, and limits the technology. We will analyse 50 different regulatory elements in wheat and rice, including those identified from a range of tissue types, in order to identify elements which can be used for tissue specific or temporally regulated expression in these cereal species.

Summary

Rice and wheat are two of the world's most important crops. In 2017, global wheat and rice production is forecast to reach 749 and 503 million tonnes respectively. Despite this, global food security analysts estimate that food production needs to double to feed 9.5 billion people by 2050. As our climate changes in the future we will need wheat and rice varieties which are better adapted to drought and reduced fertilizer inputs, and are resistant to new pests and diseases to maintain a sustainable supply of affordable, nutritious and safe food. Breeding these new climate-adapted varieties has to start now, based on genetic research which uses all the available tools to study gene function and regulation. Many technologies will contribute to tackling these targets and it is inevitable that genetic modification (GM) will make a contribution. This will either be directly, with the development and introduction of GM wheat varieties with new traits, or indirectly, as a research tool to better understand how trait genes function. GM crops have to date have largely been confined to traits giving resistance to herbicides or insects, but a new generation of traits which confer drought tolerance, disease resistance, yield improvements or health benefits are now being examined which will have an important role to play in achieving food security and future increases in production. Some of these genes come from other crop species and would be impossible to study in cereals without GM. The Community Resource in Wheat and Rice Transformation will make it easier and more cost effective for UK academic researchers to access our high throughput wheat and rice transformation systems. It will encourage plant scientists working in other species to evaluate their genes in these important crops, and provide valuable materials for further research. In addition, the funding will also allow the technology to advance, increasing both the genetic tools available for gene expression and the opportunities to fine tune or abolish the expression of targeted genes in wheat.

Impact Summary

Rice and wheat are two of the world's most important crops. Rice is a staple food for nearly half of the world's population, and is particularly important for the inhabitants living below the poverty line in low and lower middle income countries where it provides more than 50% of daily calories. Wheat has the third largest production of any cereal, and is grown on the largest area of any land crop, yet there are 1.2 billion wheat-dependent poor and 2.5 billion wheat consuming poor globally. In 2017, global wheat and rice production is forecast to reach 749 and 503 million tonnes respectively. Despite this, global food security analysts estimate that food production needs to double to feed 9.5 billion people by 2050. The impacts of climate change, the limitations of natural resources plus the advent of new biotic stresses as new pests and diseases emerge or spread in range will inevitably lead to increased food insecurity unless crop breeding efforts advance to increase yields by 2.5- to 3-fold. Many technologies will contribute to tackling this target and it is inevitable that genetic modification will make a contribution. This resource will provide the facility for 100 genes nominated by plant scientists in the UK to be transformed into wheat (75 genes) or rice (25 genes). We will support external researchers in transferring GOIs (or identifying and cloning orthologues) to the appropriate vectors and the initial analysis of the transgenic lines, so that they can quickly assess the impact of their GOI in these important cereal crops. We will encourage two groups of researchers to use this resource: 1. Researchers working with genes in model species who wish test their utility in a major cereal such as wheat or rice. 2. Wheat researchers who have candidate genes to test, or genes underlying a QTL. For BBSRC this project is directly relevant to Priority 1 on Food Security as it provides a mechanism of addressing traits in wheat in rice that are potentially difficult to achieve through traditional breeding approaches. By providing the transformation platform to plant scientists from diverse backgrounds, we anticipate that novel genes will be nominated which will address difficult targets. Prime examples here are in pest and disease resistance, water- and nutrient-use and uptake efficiencies, yield, and the reduction in crop losses through pre-harvest sprouting as all can have immediate impact on the sustainable supply of affordable, nutritious and safe food. Wheat and rice transformation with characterised promoters and terminator sequences to control gene expression will have the potential to enable modification of metabolic pathways and complex traits such as modified starch for industrial use or improved bioenergy crops, developed in tandem with water or nitrogen use efficiency targets using these tools in a multi-trait approach. This will also be of direct relevance to Priority 2. The knowledge and technology improvements made in these cereals will be very relevant and transferable to other crop species in the future. The proposed research will be of immense benefit to UK plant scientists and will provide novel candidate gene leads validated in wheat, which the UK wheat breeding community can develop in the future, either through GM or traditional breeding approaches. It will also provide a means whereby researchers can quickly test genes rice which are relevant to the food security challenges in developing countries, prior to applying for specific funding calls such as the Global Challenge Research Fund. It will therefore greatly extend the value of model crop research and provide a direct channel into the major cereal crops. Dissemination of the project outcomes through workshops, publications and general publicity will ensure that the gene-based knowledge and technological advances reach the stakeholders, various sectors of agri-business and both governmental and non-governmental policy makers.

Committee	Research Committee B (Plants, microbes, food & sustainability)
Research Topics	Crop Science, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Bioinformatics and Biological Resources Fund (BBR) [2007-2015]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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