Award details

Optimising water use in wheat

Reference	BBS/E/C/00004952
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Martin Parry
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Rothamsted Research
Department	Rothamsted Research Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	991,239
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2008
End date	31/03/2012
Duration	48 months

Abstract

Water is a major determinant of world-wide crop yield. In the UK yield losses due to drought, in wheat, the most widely grown UK crop, average 1-2 t ha-1 and cost approximately £60M per year. The predicted changes in climate patterns are projected to increase the losses (e.g. in the south and east of the UK, a 1-2 oC increase in mean summer temperatures and decrease summer rainfall as a result of global climate change). Drought tolerance is highly complex trait made up from a number of usually multigenic component traits. By integrating genetics, genomics, crop physiology, biochemistry and biomathematics and agronomy we aim to both understand and deconvolute the drought response, identify the component traits important in attaining high stable yield under drought, identify QTLs and the candidate genes. We will investigate natural variation in germplasm (mapping populations and accessions) for water use efficiency, integrative morpho-physiological traits and yield. We will establish the genotype X environment interactions under drought exploiting a large qtl datasets representing more than 30 environments. Metabolic signalling networks and regulation of metabolism control responses and adaptation to drought (metabolism,growth, and physiology). Whilst the identities of some signalling elements are known the identities of the sensors and overall cross talk between pathways is less clear. Variation in the key genes involved in primary metabolism and metabolic signalling will be determined by wide germplasm screening and expression studies. The function of candidate genes will be established by transformation or TILLING. We will develop new conceptual models to describe physiological, molecular and biochemical response of genotypes to progressive drought.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Plant & Microbial Sciences (PMS)
Research Topics	Crop Science, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

I accept the terms and conditions of use (opens in new window)

export PDF file

back to list new search