Award details

JIC-CAS Joint Centre

Reference	BBS/OS/NW/000008
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Dale Sanders
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	500,000
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/04/2015
End date	31/12/2018
Duration	44 months

Abstract

This project will leverage the complementary strengths of world-leading plant science institutes in the UK and China to address sustainable agricultural development challenges of the developing world. In particular to: • develop new varieties of wheat with improved yield potential; • improve the resistance of cereal crops to drought and salt-stress; • exploit high value medicinal bioactives from Chinese plants in African agriculture.

Summary

The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the John Innes Centre have formed a joint Centre of Excellence in Plant and Microbial Sciences. CEPAMS receives core funding from CAS, JIC and BBSRC and is based in Beijing, Shanghai and Norwich. Newton funding adds an international development dimension to CEPAMS. Specifically, it enables collaborative research between JIC and CAS in the following areas. 1. Understanding and exploiting mechanisms controlling seed size and seed yield in crops. Yield in cereal crops is a key aspect of food security. Wheat provides more than 20% of the human population’s total energy intake. In developing countries, demographic changes and rapid urbanisation will result in an increase in the demand for wheat. Newton funding will support further understanding of the mechanisms controlling seed size and allow this knowledge to be exploited in wheat. 2. Optimising the site of nitrogen assimilation in drought and salt-stressed cereal crops. Large parts of the developing world are subject to drought and salt stress and these factors limit secure food production. Nitrogen needs to be present in the leaves of plants to make food, but is preferentially stored in the roots during times of stress. Newton funding will provide a better understanding of this process and the potential for partitioning more nitrogen to the leaf under stress and non-stress conditions in wheat and rice. 3. Producing of medicinal products from a traditional Chinese medicine. There is a growing consensus that strengthening the local production of essential medicines is a priority in developing countries. The traditional Chinese medicine Shan Dou Gen, used to treat jaundice, hepatitis and cancer, is derived from the root of the legume Sophora tonkinensis Gapne. Newton funding will allow an understanding of how active compounds are produced in the plant enabling potential scale up of production for therapeutic use.

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Crop Science, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Newton Fund - Initial Awards (NFIA) [2017]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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