Unlocking the properties of pre-Green Revolution rice with focus on nitrogen economy

Lead Research Organisation: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Department Name: Trait Diversity and Function

Abstract

Crop plants evolve under the pressure of human needs and agricultural practices, hence contemporary varieties can be very different from those cultivated a century ago. In 1967, the Green Revolution invoked one of the most radical changes to crops and their cultivation environment. It encompassed mechanisation, the introduction of agro-chemicals, irrigation, and the replacement of traditional landraces with high-yielding hybrid monoculture. While it is credited with saving around one billion lives from starvation in developing countries, it implemented high chemical-input unsustainable agriculture, which affected crops, their environment, their associated microbiomes, and our dietary habits. Due to the high pace of rice agriculture transformation in Asia, we have very limited knowledge about the past genetic diversity, symbiotic relationships, and nutritional qualities of rice. In particular, we know very little about rice interactions with microbes, which are frequently suggested as sustainable alternatives to chemical inputs. To better understand the chemical-independent agriculture of the past, and to unlock rice properties that could improve sustainable nitrogen uptake, I propose to characterize the genomic, metagenomic and chemical diversity of historical populations of rice in Southeast Asia that predate the Green Revolution. Tailoring multi-omic approaches to degraded historical plants is not trivial. This project will utilize state-of-art methodology for archaeogenomics, pioneer analyses of nutrients in historical samples, and employ new methods for accurate microbiome characterization. I will conduct field experiments to test the effects of pre-Green Revolution microbial mixtures on rice nitrogen economy. In sum, this project will spearhead the mining of historical crop collections to unlock lost properties of crops through multi-omics. It will inspire the search for lost biotic and abiotic resistance traits with promise to increase our future food security.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description Landrace reintroduction
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health
 
Description Characterising Rice Genetic Diversity of the Past to Safeguard the Future
Amount £100,000 (GBP)
Funding ID 2869278 
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2023 
End 09/2027
 
Title Clean room facilities for ancient and historical DNA 
Description Design, construction and commission of ultra-clean laboratory facilites with ISO6 clean air certification for processing ancient and historical degraded DNA. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2024 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact New frontiers in analyzing historical plant materials, resultant in 3 new research collaborations. 
 
Description Can Tho University, Vietnam 
Organisation Can Tho University
Country Viet Nam 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Intellectual contributions. Training and seminars.
Collaborator Contribution Identification of sampling sites. Support in securing sampling permits.
Impact Training workshops for CTU partners. Distribution map for sampling.
Start Year 2023
 
Description International Rice Research Institute, Philippines 
Organisation International Rice Research Institute
Country Philippines 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Intellectual contributions: population genomic analyses on partner's data.
Collaborator Contribution Intellectual contributions: analyses of grain micronutrients.
Impact None yet.
Start Year 2023
 
Description National Museum of Natural History Phlippines 
Organisation National Museum of Natural History
Country Philippines 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Intellectual inputs, seminars and training.
Collaborator Contribution Participation in field work, support with sampling permissions, sample preparation.
Impact Sampling and sharing of 72 biological samples.
Start Year 2022
 
Description CNB Junior's seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Invited talk and two-day programme organized by postgraduate students: CNB Junior Seminars, Spanish National Biotechnology Centre, Spain. Inspired postgraduate students to pursue academic career.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Wallmer 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Summer event at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, which provides researchers (and their families) an opportunity to network with others and find future collaborators within the field of ecology and evolution.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/centre-ecology-evolution/wallmer
 
Description Workshops at NMP, Philippines 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Seminar and workshop series on use of genomics on museum collections. Reported increased interest in training and application of genomics techniques.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023,2024
 
Description Workshops for CTU, Vietnam 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Seminar, demonstration and workshop series for genomics. Sparked interest in further collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023