How can Genetics help to deliver sustainability?

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How can Genetics help to deliver
sustainability? Prof David Pink
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• Can breeders shift from a focus on
• Improved crop efficiency - Increase marketable
  yield/unit area (under high input conditions)
• to
• Improved sustainability - Retain/improve
  marketable yield/unit area with reduced inputs
  e.g.
• Pesticides
• Resources water, fertiliser
• If they can why should they?

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Unsustainable breeding for resistance e.g.
Lettuce Downy Mildew

• Caused by oomycete Bremia lactucae
• Most important lettuce disease world-wide
• gt 30 broken Dm genes

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Unsustainable breeding for resistance the
accelerated Boom-Bust cycle
Collaboration to identify new major gene for
resistance
More rapid BOOM- Deployment in many new varieties
simultaneously from several breeding companies
Quicker BUST- New pathotype Dm gene wasted
Higher selection pressure against avirulence
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An sustainable form of Resistance

• Field Resistance
• Effective against all races
• Rate reducing (partial) resistance
• Less plants infected
• Fewer leaves infected
• Smaller lesions/less sporulation.
• Can breed for this using molecular markers beat
  the breeder

cv Iceberg
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Breeding for Pest and Disease Resistance Need to
shift focus to resistance of the crop not the
plant Crop resistance economically acceptable
level of disease/pest Achieved by a combination
of methods that each reduce the level of
infection i.e. integrated crop management of
which partial resistance is one component

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What are targets for breeding for sustainable
production? Use life cycle analysis of current
production methods to identify which components
have biggest environmental impact and/or energy
demand to identify targets for breeders. e.g.
NIAB study of OSR production in UK 83 of
energy input into growing crop is associated
with manufacture (70)and application (13)of
nitrogen fertiliser.
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Genetic variation for Response to N levels in
Brassica napus diversity set
Graham Teakle
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• For vegetables breeding for improved post harvest
  may also improve LCA of the product by
• Reduced need for energy in cooling
• Reduced wastage

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Exploiting genetic variation in Phosphorous use
efficiency
B. oleracea diversity set
Brassica with high PAUE P-responsive High
internal P-use efficiency Larger shoots Longer
roots Greater root FW
Brassica with low PAUE Non P-responsive Low
internal P-use efficiency Smaller shoots Shorter
roots Less root FW
John Hammond
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GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE change in summer rainfall
under two scenarios of CO2 emissions
2020 2050 2080
Low emissions
High emissions
(not in 2007!!)
From UKCIP02 report
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Regions of Brassica oleracea genome associated
with water use efficiency
O1
O9
d18O Gleadthorpe
d18O Kirton
d13C Gleadthorpe
d13C Kirton
SPAD Gleadthorpe
Mean
SPAD Kirton
Drought
Specific leaf area Gleadthorpe
Specific leaf area Kirton
Control
Andrew Thompson
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• Can breeders shift from a focus on improved crop
  efficiency to improved sustainability? YES
• Genetic variation for key traits for sustainable
  production exists
• The tools to breed more sustainable crops are
  being developed.
• Using natural genetic variation breeders can
  breed crops that can use or acquire resources
  (water and nutrients) more efficiently. This will
  reduce these inputs into agricultural systems,
  providing economic and environmental benefits

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why should they? Breeders need to be
incentivised/rewarded to produce varieties for
low input production. Current Defra- funded
project investigating how to assess variety
traits which are important for performance under
low input systems. -will also provide breeders
with information on target traits
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Acknowledgements Graham Teakle NUE John Hammond
PUE Andrew Thompson - WUE