SUMMER 2016 - IMPACT SUMMARY

A £7M joint investment by public research funders and industry to improve productivity and quality in , barley and oilseed rape

www.bbsrc.ac.uk/circ

Crop Improvement Research Club (CIRC)

Working together to deliver better already generated useful outputs crops for the UK which are being used in industry:

Food security is an increasingly . 380,000 DNA markers and a important global issue. A growing ‘breeders chip’ for better wheat world population, combined with from elite varieties, landraces climate change and the spread of crop and wild relatives pests, diseases and weeds threatens . Standardised lab test for grain agricultural production and an urgent skinning in barley response is required. . High throughput assessment of CIRC supports excellent quality root growth and architecture for research focused on improving barley, screening new crop varieties oilseed rape and wheat for food uses. . Novel EMI methods to measure Fourteen companies are members of root performance and CIRC and are representative of the moisture in the field breadth of innovation in the crop . New genes and markers to production and processing industry in combat Turnip Yellows Virus in the UK. oilseed rape

In return for a financial contribution . Improved knowledge of how to CIRC, the member companies gain different crop varieties use early access to an exciting research photosynthesis portfolio of fifteen projects. The . Insight into new gene projects bring together a community combinations to reduce pod- of 60 investigators to form shatter in oilseed rape multidisciplinary teams focused on challenges identified by industry. “The club enabled industry and academic partners to tackle Delivering Industrial Impact collaboratively specific issues CIRC has established a new capability affecting crop breeding and for the sector to address significant processing” research challenges associated with Dr Peter Werner, R&D Breeder, food security. The projects have KWS UK Ltd Research to improve wheat, barley and oilseed rape CIRC supports 15 research projects with £7M of funding from BBSRC, the Scottish Government and 14 member companies.

Higher Yields Better Quality Flexible Genotyping platform for Controlling grain skinning in barley wheat Bristol University & John SRUC & Innes Centre Processability of malting barley Manipulation of photosynthesis to James Hutton Institute improve yield Rothamsted Research & Essex University Role of lipids in bread dough quality Rothamsted Research & IFR Changing gene function to control pod shatter in Oilseed rape Glucosidase inhibitors for malting barley John Innes Institute

Exploring genes controlling fertility Production of wheat lacking B-type in wheat and barley starch granules Nottingham University NIAB & John Innes Institute

Healthier Crops Improved Roots Sources of genetic resistance to Rhizosphere exudation and oilseed Turnip Yellows Virus for oilseed rape yield rape Warwick University Warwick University Phenotyping root function in Increasing pest resistance by an wheat enhanced UV-B response Rothamsted Research & Lancaster Glasgow University University

Fungal effectors as activators of High throughput root phenotyping novel resistances in cereals screens James Hutton Institute Nottingham University & James Hutton Institute

Abundant DNA markers from genome science

Developing new strategies to manipulate yield and resistance by marker-assisted selection (MAS) underpins our strategy to generate improved wheat varieties. This project identified 380,000 wheat DNA markers that allow us to: . distinguish and dissect closely DNA chip with markers, image courtesy of related elite lines to find new Professor Keith Edwards, University of Bristol combinations . follow and transfer small groups CIRC project: “Development and of genes from wild species for validation of a flexible genotyping disease resistance platform for wheat”, 2011-2013 . backcross important traits such Project team: as OBM quickly into new lines . Professor Keith Edwards, . 7000 markers have been University of Bristol validated and made available . Dr Simon Griffith and Dr online via CerealsDB Cristobal Uauy, John Innes Centre DNA chips for rapid low cost analysis enable crop breeders to: . PhD student Harriet Benbow

. screen hundreds of important

genes in advanced elite crop “CIRC helps AHDB to meet its populations strategic R&D aims, complements . screen thousands of genes in its own research programme, and exotic germplasm to find new provides leverage for AHDB sources of resistance to crop resources” pests and diseases . screen ten times more Dr Dhan Bhandari, Research & KT genotypes at a tenth of a cost, Manager Food & Feed Quality, AHDB meaning that farmers can have Cereals & Oilseeds new varieties more quickly Seeing underground for better roots

Improved root systems can contribute towards improved yield and more sustainable agricultural production. This project developed practical, low cost methods to screen plant root systems: . High throughput screen to image root growth and architecture to select for seedling performance Dr Eric Ober, NIAB, demonstrating rhizotrons to . Field screening and sampling look at root growth of different crops, image systems to record roots in action courtesy of Professor Simon Bright, CIRC coordinator . Lab screens applicable to oilseed rape, barley and wheat at less CIRC project: “Delivering low-cost, than £1 per plant high-throughput root phenotyping . Field method to image and screens for arable crops”, 2012-2015 count roots at high-resolution Project team: (e.g. 5cm) intervals in the soil . Professor Martin Broadley, profile University of Nottingham . Field trials of oilseed rape over . Professor Philip J. White, James three seasons identified Hutton Institute correlations of root and seed . Cathy Thomas, PhD student parameters with crop establishment and yield CIRC project: “Phenotyping root function in wheat”, 2012-2015 . Genetic loci affecting root growth and architecture were Project team: identified to accelerate the . Prof Richard Whalley, breeding of new varieties Rothamsted Research

. Mathematical models will help breeders to identify traits and genotypes are associated with improved root systems

New resistance genes to TuYV in OSR cultivars and wild plant reservoirs of the virus

Turnip yellow virus infects most oilseed rape crops in the UK, reducing the seed yield by up to 30%. Growers have used insecticides in attempts to control the virus however these are not always effective and the use of the most effective has been banned on oilseed rape:

. A new source of resistance to TuYV has been characterised

. Strong resistances from B. rapa and a B. oleracea wild relative have also been characterised and combined in resynthesized B. napus. Keith Norman, Technical Director of Velcourt, and Dr John Walsh, University of Warwick, . Negotiations with breeders to looking at new virus resistant oilseed rape lines exploit the resistances are at Cereals 2015. Image courtesy of Professor underway Simon Bright, CIRC coordinator

. Weeds such as Shepherds purse, CIRC project: “Exploring sources of groundsel and chickweed have resistance to Turnip Yellow Virus for been shown to be reservoirs for deployment in oilseed rape”, 2012- field infection as they are hosts 2016 of TuYV capable of infecting Project team: oilseed rape . Dr John Walsh, University of . 179 full TuYV genomes from 6 Warwick European countries have been . Max Newbert, PhD student sequenced to enhance our understanding of the genetic diversity of the virus

Reproducible tests to assess barley grain skinning

The quality of malting barley is important for maintaining food safety, product quality and the competitiveness of the UK cereals industry.

The loss of the outer layer of the barley grain during or post-harvest is called grain skinning, and has negative impacts during malting. A sample of skinned barley, image courtesy of Dr Steve Hoad and Dr Maree Brennan, JHI Improving our understanding of how a plant’s genetic make-up influences CIRC project: “Causes and control of grain skinning will improve our ability grain skinning in malting barley”, 2012-2016 to breed new barley varieties without this undesirable condition: Project team: . Professor Steve Hoad, SRUC . Screening tests developed to rank existing varieties and to . Maree Brennan, PhD student provide early screens for . Professor Bill Thomas, James breeders Hutton Institute . 200 commercial lines assessed and low-risk varieties were “Through the CIRC, SWRI identified established wider links with . Produced a list of environmental academic groups. Some of the and crop handling risk factors for existing links with academic grain skinning groups were energised through . Identified genetic loci linked to CIRC activities. Subsequently, skinning to allow breeders to SWRI is doing more work with improve varieties several academic partners” . Phenotypic data collected during Dr James Brosnan, Research the project will be made publicly Manager, SWRI available

Controlling pod shatter in oilseed rape

The successful domestication of crops depends upon the plant’s ability to hold its seeds until harvest. The problem of controlling seed dispersal was solved thousands of years ago for cereal crops but is still an issue for oilseed rape.

The average annual loss for farmers due to premature fruit opening, known as pod shatter, is more than 10%, and can exceed 70% in poor Pod shatter in oilseed rape, image courtesy of harvesting conditions. Andrew Davis, John Innes Centre

This project developed genetic CIRC Project: “Exploring knowledge approaches to controlling pod of gene function to combat pod shatter: shatter in oilseed rape”, 2011-2016 . New mutations in a key gene for . Professor Lars Østergaard, John shatter, IND, were identified in Innes Centre oilseed rape and combined to

give a range of shattering “Membership of CIRC enabled performance KWS to influence a portfolio of . 2016 trials on-going to assess funded projects, some of which comparative performance with were more risky, however the risk current varieties was worth taking. CIRC addressed . plant materials available for practical issues important to the research testing and the genes R&D strategy of KWS” come with precise DNA SNP markers to facilitate rapid Dr Peter Werner, R&D Breeder, breeding deployment KWS UK Ltd

Breeding wheat and barley for product quality

These projects have improved our understanding of wheat and barley grain quality for dough making and malting:

. A line of wheat lacking B-type

granules was selected by stacking deletions of the Bread baked with or without emulsifier and homologous Bgc-1 loci hard fat, image courtesy Peter Skeggs, (responsible for B-granule Rothamsted Research content). A-granule content and grain weight are not affected CIRC Project: “Production of wheat lacking B-type starch granules”, . Identified lipids associated with 2012-2016 the stability of gas bubbles in . wheat dough which can be Dr Kay Trafford, NIAB manipulated to improve bread CIRC Project: “The role of lipids in making quality determining gas bubble retention in . New natural products were wheat dough”, 2013-2015 identified that can inhibit loss of . Professor Peter Shewry, starch and rootlet growth during Rothamsted Research malting of barley grains CIRC Project: ”Glucosidase inhibitors: new approaches to malting efficiency”, 2011-2014 . Professor Alison Smith, JIC

A scanning electron microscopy image of starch granules of wheat lacking B-type granules, image courtesy of Dr Kay Trafford, NIAB Growing new crop research scientists

PhD students were supported by BBSRC through CIRC. The students were trained in leading research labs with regular contact from industry during their studies. Many visited or worked with company members and represent new talent for the sector. . Harriet Benbow, University of Bristol, wheat . Cathy Thomas, University of Nottingham, roots and soil CIRC PhD student Kirsty McInnes, University of interactions in oilseed rape Glasgow, at Cereals 2015, image courtesy of Simon Bright, CIRC coordinator . Max Newbert, University of

Warwick, genetics and phytopathology in oilseed rape “CIRC is providing a good support . Byoung Min, Rothamsted network for younger researchers, Research, wheat grain quality and compliments AHDB’s internal PhD programme” . Mike Rugen, John Innes Centre, starch degradation and barley Dr Dhan Bhandari, Research & KT grain quality Manager Food & Feed Quality, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds . Lucie Griffe, James Hutton Institute, functional genomics “One of the most important and phytopathology in barley impacts of CIRC is the creation of . Christopher Hale, University of a pool of young scientists working Warwick, oilseed rape root on crops. Succession planning in exudates and their role in yield crop science is of strategic improvement importance to SWRI” . Kathryn Grant, SRUC, varietal Dr James Brosnan, Research differences in grain skinning Manager, SWRI . Kirsty McInnes, University of Glasgow Managed by BBSRC, CIRC is a partnership between the Research Councils, Scottish Government and a consortium of companies with interests in crop production and processing.

[email protected] www.bbsrc.ac.uk/circ Summer 2016

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