United Kingdom
February 11, 2009
Wheat genome project to
underpin food security
An extensive genetic analysis of the wheat genome will be
carried out by researchers at Bristol University, the
University of
Liverpool and The John Innes
Centre, thanks to a £1.7M grant from
the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The work will
help scientists to understand the genetic basis of differing
levels of yield and environmental stress tolerance between wheat
varieties. This knowledge could ultimately help to develop new
types of wheat with higher yield or able to cope with the
different conditions climate change is likely to bring.
The scientists aim to identify, using new DNA sequencing
technologies, genetic differences between the UK's main wheat
varieties. The project will also pave the way for comprehensive
sequencing of the bread wheat genome by exploring the
application of new sequencing technologies and analysis methods.
The wheat genome is five times larger than the human genome and
is composed of three essentially separate yet closely related
genomes. It therefore represents a major challenge in genome
sequencing and analysis.
However, because it is one of the world’s most important food
crops, accessing sequence variation that underlies yield
differences and tolerance of environmental stresses is a very
high priority. The development of new sequencing technologies
that generate very large amounts of accurate sequence provides
an opportunity to identify sequence differences in different
wheat varieties.
Professor Janet Allen, Director of Research at BBSRC, said:
"BBSRC has identified research underpinning food security as a
vital strategic priority. Projects such as this to analyse the
wheat genome are crucial. As a scientific community we have to
realize that we need to go back to the fundamentals of
developing the right crops to plant in the ground if we want to
be able to feed a growing global population faced with the
uncertainty of climate change. UK plant and crop scientists are
world beaters and are well placed to rise to this challenge."
The researchers will generate sequence from a standard lab
strain of wheat and from four varieties that provide a wide
range of genetic variation used by UK breeders.
In addition to the major scientific advances this project can
deliver, a key aspect of the BBSRC grant is a plan to ensure
that the scientific knowledge generated can be exploited
effectively by plant breeders for the benefit of UK consumers
and industry.
Professor Edwards said: "The project will deliver new ways for
plant breeders to efficiently identify genetic differences in
wheat. This will dramatically increase the efficiency of
breeding new varieties and identifying regions of the genome
that carry key traits such as disease resistance, improved
quality and yield."
This £1.7M grant follows on from recent BBSRC funding for the
Bristol University scientists that total £1.3M for work relating
to the exploitation of new technologies to enhance our
understanding of the wheat genome and apply the results to wheat
breeding.
BBSRC is taking forward research underpinning food security at a
workshop being held in Central London later this month. The
workshop will bring together leading scientists with industrial
and other stakeholders, policymakers and funders, and aims to
produce a list of priorities and a roadmap for UK research in
the area of food security.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
(BBSRC) is the UK funding agency for research in the life
sciences. Sponsored by Government, BBSRC annually invests around
£420 million in a wide range of research that makes a
significant contribution to the quality of life for UK citizens
and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders
including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and
pharmaceutical sectors. BBSRC carries out its mission by funding
internationally competitive research, providing training in the
biosciences, fostering opportunities for knowledge transfer and
innovation and promoting interaction with the public and other
stakeholders on issues of scientific interest in universities,
centres and institutes.
The Babraham Institute, Institute for Animal Health, Institute
of Food Research, John Innes Centre and Rothamsted Research are
Institutes of BBSRC. The Institutes conduct long-term,
mission-oriented research using specialist facilities. They have
strong interactions with industry, Government departments and
other end-users of their research.
Source: the University of
Liverpool
Wheat
genome project to underpin food security
UK scientists have been awarded £1.7 million to analyse the
genomes of five varieties of wheat, in order to help farmers
increase the yield and disease resistance of British wheat
varieties.
Bread wheat, with an estimated world harvest of more than 550
million tonnes, is one of the most important food crops in the
world and is worth more than £2 billion to the UK’s agricultural
industry.
“Wheat production world-wide has not kept up with demand and is
under threat from drought and new diseases,” said Professor Mike
Bevan from the John Innes Centre. “We need to use modern genomic
technologies to help breed varieties that will be more
adaptable, higher yielding, and which resist diseases that cause
major crop losses”.
The wheat genome is five times larger than the human genome and
bread wheat is actually made up of three closely related
genomes. Most of the wheat genome is “junk DNA” that does not
encode any genes. At JIC scientists will develop methods to fish
out the important regions of five wheat varieties for
sequencing. These lines carry much needed traits such as disease
resistance, improved quality and yield.
The project will also provide a large amount of sequence data
for the future genome sequencing of wheat. Professor Neil Hall
and Dr Anthony Hall, from the University of Liverpool, and
Professor Mike Bevan from the John Innes Centre will carry out
the sequencing work using complementary approaches.
The planned BBSRC Genome Analysis Centre in Norwich and the
European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge will also play a
key role in this important project.
Professor Neil Hall said: “New DNA sequencing technology can
read 500 million separate letters of DNA in a single day –
hundreds of times faster than the systems that were used to
sequence the human genome.”
The research is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological
Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The John Innes Centre is an
institute of the BBSRC.
BACKGROPUND
DNA sequencing has been pioneered by institutes such as the
Wellcome Trust’s Sanger Institute in Cambridge. It was here that
scientists decoded a record-breaking two billion letters of DNA
in the human genome. The technology used to do this, however,
was very large and complex and had to be housed in specially
constructed buildings. The new state-of-the-art instruments are
no larger than a photocopier.
The John Innes Centre is an
independent, world-leading research centre in plant and
microbial sciences with over 800 staff. JIC is based on Norwich
Research Park and carries out high quality fundamental,
strategic and applied research to understand how plants and
microbes work at the molecular, cellular and genetic levels. The
JIC also trains scientists and students, collaborates with many
other research laboratories and communicates its science to
end-users and the general public. The JIC is grant-aided by the
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
(BBSRC) is the UK funding agency for research in the life
sciences. Sponsored by Government, BBSRC annually invests around
£420 million in a wide range of research that makes a
significant contribution to the quality of life for UK citizens
and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders
including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and
pharmaceutical sectors. BBSRC carries out its mission by funding
internationally competitive research, providing training in the
biosciences, fostering opportunities for knowledge transfer and
innovation and promoting interaction with the public and other
stakeholders on issues of scientific interest in universities,
centres and institutes.
The University of Liverpool is a member of the Russell Group of
leading research-intensive institutions in the UK. It attracts
collaborative and contract research commissions from a wide
range of national and international organisations valued at more
than £93 million annually.
Other news
from the John
Innes Centre |
|
