Australia: UK wheat pre-breeding for resistance to new disease threats - NextGenWheat

Lead Research Organisation: National Institute of Agricultural Botany
Department Name: Centre for Research

Abstract

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Publications

10 25 50
 
Description A number of new collaborations have been established between NIAB, Cambridge, UK and research institutes and universities in Australia as a result of this travel award.
Exploitation Route The new collaborations established are being taken forward.
Sectors Agriculture

Food and Drink

 
Description Adelaide VHA project 
Organisation University of Adelaide
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I travelled to Adelaide in March 2019 to learn of the work being done on Very High Amylose (VHA) wheat at Adelaide university. I visited the groups of Dr Colin Jenner and Prof Rachel Burton amongst others. We are working on some of the VHA lines of wheat which we obtained from Adelaide University as part of our BBSRC-funded Designing Future Wheat project. We are attempting to determine the molecular basis of the trait.
Collaborator Contribution My assistant, BS and I also traveled to Adelaide to work at the University of Adelaide in Oct 2019 to learn the biochemical assays being used to assess amylose and starch content in wheat grains and to discuss further collaborative work. We also talked to the commercial team about the best routes to commercialization of VHA lines. We were given more grains to bring home to the UK to add to our studies.
Impact The collaboration is Multidiciplinary, involving biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and food-functionality studies.
Start Year 2017
 
Description Surveying diverse root characteristics in pre-breeding material 
Organisation International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT)
Country Mexico 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Contribution of knowledge and germplasm to a wider collaborative partnership to design strategies to support wider global pre-breeding and germplasm screening activities
Collaborator Contribution Contribution of training to establish the screening system at NIAB - this involved the Australian partner spending two weeks at NIAB establishing the system and training others in the use and analysis of image data. Provision of key consumables (only available in Australia) Provision of existing genotype data
Impact Publication in preparation
Start Year 2016
 
Description Surveying diverse root characteristics in pre-breeding material 
Organisation University of Queensland
Department Queensland Brain Institute
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Contribution of knowledge and germplasm to a wider collaborative partnership to design strategies to support wider global pre-breeding and germplasm screening activities
Collaborator Contribution Contribution of training to establish the screening system at NIAB - this involved the Australian partner spending two weeks at NIAB establishing the system and training others in the use and analysis of image data. Provision of key consumables (only available in Australia) Provision of existing genotype data
Impact Publication in preparation
Start Year 2016
 
Description ABTS talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited talk at Australian Barley Technical Symposium (Perth, Australia) "Genetic and physiological determinants of nitrogen response: lessons from wheat" including discussion with multiple stakeholders (research and industry) on collaboration in the area of crop nitrogen demand.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description CSIRO Gene Editing workshop - invited presentation, Kiama, Sydney, Australia 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited presentation by Emma Wallington and discussion with researchers on the implementation of gene editing at NIAB. Comparisons were made with efficiency of gene editing in rice, barley and wheat. Specific examples included the creation of d14l mutant rice lines for the "Spatial regulation of rice D14L for pre-symbiotic perception of beneficial fungi" project and the validation of candidate genes for male sterility in wheat. Outcomes from this included further discussions with several international researchers to develop new research collaborations and joint funding proposals; several joint project proposals are currently being written.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description CSIRO talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 30/06/2018 Invited talk "Progress in wheat pre-breeding and trait genetics at NIAB" at CSIRO, Canberra, Australia
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description GRDC Extension Article 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact GRDC Extension Article: "Taking stock of what we know about Crown rot" Samir Alahmad, Lee Hickey, Steven Simpfendorker and Alison Bentley
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://extensionaus.com.au/field-crop-diseases/taking-stock-what-we-know-about-crown-rot/
 
Description GRDC visit 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Supporters
Results and Impact Visit & talk for GRDC Australia visitors to NIAB: Craig Ruchs (Senior Regional Manager) and Stephen Loss (Manager Nutrition and Soils) "A trait-based understanding of wheat nitrogen response" 04/10/2018
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description GRDC visit to NIAB 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Supporters
Results and Impact Visit of GRDC to NIAB: Ron Osmond (Head of Business Development) and Steve Thomas (Deputy CEO and General Manager) on Business Development opportunities
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description InterGrain visit 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 19/6/19 Hosted visit of Australian wheat and barley breeders David Moody & Hannah Robinson from InterGrain Australia. Included overview presentations on current pre-breeding and trait research and opportunities for new collaboration and field visit to pre-breeding trials. Led to invitation for AB to visit Australia in Sept 2019 and a further visit to InterGrain from NIAB CEO Tina Barsby to build a partnership
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Invited research seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited seminar from Alison Bentley on "Developments in wheat genetics and breeding" at The University of Adelaide (Waite Campus) Australia on 18/1/17 followed by a networking event and laboratory tours and visits. This led to many future avenues to be pursued for collaboration
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Invited seminar (University of Adelaide, Australia) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited seminar at The University of Adelaide including Q&A session and networking event involving academics and industry
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Melissa Garcia visit 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Hosted visit from Melissa Garcia (University of Adelaide, Australia) to discuss collaboration, access to existing data and further germplasm resources (1/11/19)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description NIAB Open Day 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact NIAB Open Day (27/6/17) including formal presentation of a seminar on the future of plant breeding innovation plus Q&A, tours of breeding material in the field and poster displays.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Next-gen wheat breeders 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Co-organised "Next-gen wheat breeders" workshop at University of Saskatchwen, Canada including securing funding from the International Wheat Intitiative and organising the programme and speakers. The attendees were selected to represent all major wheat geographies and disciplines. The speakers/mentors were selected for their abilities to inspire and share knowledge with early career scientists. The workshop involved talks, a field visit and interactive discussions to highlight the many opportunities available for cutting edge technology to impact future wheat breeding and research. The workshop was co-developed with Dr Lee Hickey and Dr Kai Voss-Fels from University of Queensland with this partnership building on the NIAB UK-Australia Partnering Award.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description School visit (Cambridge) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Visit to a primary school and talk to Year 4 school children on career opportunities in Plant Sciences plus a Q&A session
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description UQ visit 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Visit to NIAB of Lee Hickey and Kai Vos-Fels from The University of Queensland to discuss UK-Australia collaboration (28/11/2018)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description UWA talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited talk at University of Western Australia "Wheat pre-breeding: germplasm into practice" (10/9/19) followed by tour of facilities and discussion about collaborative opportunities. Additional visit to Curtin University to discuss collaboration in wheat pathogen research.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Visit of GRDC (Australia) to NIAB 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Supporters
Results and Impact Hosted visit of the Australian Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) to NIAB (28/9/17) to explore partnering opportunities and to promote collaborations in crop breeding
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Visit of Prof Ian Edwards (University of Western Australia) to NIAB 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Hosted visit of Prof Ian Edwards, University of Western Australia to NIAB to discuss collaborative NUE results and progress.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017