Award details

Maximising carbon harvest from perennial crops

Reference	BBS/E/C/00005199
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Michael Beale
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Rothamsted Research
Department	Rothamsted Research Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	5,432,674
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2012
End date	31/03/2017
Duration	59 months

Abstract

This project is part of the Cropping Carbon Institute Strategic Programme that aims to build a whole systems understanding of carbon allocation above- and below-ground to help achieve an optimal balance between harvestable and sequestered carbon in perennial cropping systems. We will study willow, Miscanthus and perennial grasses, with major focus on willow where we have the most extensive genetic resources. The aim is to improve our understanding of how patterns of carbon partitioning differ between these three perennial cropping types, and how, within a crop type, they change during development and are influenced by genetic and environmental variation. There are 6 components (Work Packages -WP) to the project: 1. We will use a metabolomics approach, coupled with gene expression and trait measurements of plants in controlled environment (CE) and field conditions. Metabolite analysis of woody crops is a significant challenge and further development of methodologies will be a major part of the initial work (WP1.1). 2. Analytical technologies will be deployed to define the soluble metabolomes of willow, Miscanthus and perennial grass using reference cultivars, grown in CE and the field. We will compile species-specific, metabolite spectral libraries from which qualitative and quantitative analysis will allow us to identify the major carbon assimilation and partitioning pathways. Variation in the willow metabolome over its life cycle, in different tissues and over diurnal cycles will then be assessed (WP1.2). 3. The results will be used to select tissues and times for sampling of willow genetic mapping families in large scale screens (WP1.3). 4. We will include populations grown on water and nutrient-limited sites to investigate the effects of resource limitations on the carbon flow (WP1.4). 5. Both mQTL mapping and candidate gene approaches will be used for identification of underlying genes (WP1.5) 6. We will test possibilities for pathway optimisation (WP1.6).

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Bioenergy, 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

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