Award details

Crop Quality

Reference	BBS/E/J/000PR9799
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Janneke Balk
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Sanu Arora, Professor Claire Domoney, Dr Brittany Hazard, Professor Cathie Martin, Professor Tony Miller, Professor Dale Sanders, Dr David Seung, Professor Alison Smith
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	4,862,448
Status	Current
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2017
End date	31/03/2023
Duration	59 months

Abstract

Recent progress in genomic and transcriptomic technologies for crop species provides new opportunities to apply our expertise directly to these species, in order to underpin improvements in crop quality. We have an outstanding track record in research on the nutritional importance of phenylpropanoids and on the composition of pea seeds. We also have expertise in understanding plant zinc and iron homeostasis and in starch synthesis and turnover. Across these research areas, we will use new knowledge of the genetic control of crop composition to develop suites of crop plants differing only in a single aspect of composition. These will be tested for health promoting, digestive and functional properties by researchers at the neighbouring Quadram Institute. The outcome will be a new, systematic understanding of bioavailability and nutritional importance of crop components, the effects of composition on food functionality and consumer acceptability, and means of breeding nutritionally superior crops. We will apply understanding of zinc and iron homeostasis to increase the iron and zinc content of cereal grains, and to exploit iron in pea seeds. We will use knowledge of the relationship between starch properties, starch synthesis and starch granule initiation to develop wheat lines containing starches that differ in resistance to digestion, and to discover how granules develop in wheat grains. We will make use of new pea germplasm to provide systematic understanding of important nutritional and quality traits in pea. We will develop new resources for studying the importance of dietary phenylpropanoids for human health, and discover genes underlying quality traits in citrus fruit.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
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

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