FACCE ERA-NET+ GrassLandscape (Project Leader: Jean-Paul Sampoux, INRA, France)

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Our project aims to implement an innovative methodological frame to screen the natural diversity of agrassland species in order to discover genetic variability involved in environmental adaptation, and morespecifically in climatic adaptation (Sampoux et al., 2013). We will consider the use of results delivered by thisapproach to plan strategies to restore permanent grasslands degraded by climatic shifts and disruptions. Ourproject will focus on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), which is a major grass species naturallydistributed over the whole European continent as well as in Northern Africa and Near East (Humphreys et al.,2010). This species is a major component of many natural grassland communities. It is a resource capturestrategy species (Martin et al., 2009) which is especially prevalent in grasslands grazed by cattle. It is also themain grass species sown in Europe to create temporary meadows and it has therefore received extensivebreeding effort during the last four decades (Sampoux et al., 2011). Recent developments in a new area ofecological sciences (landscape genomics) have paved the way to the discovery of genomic markers ofadaptive diversity from genome-wide genotyping data. They are based on the implementation of methodscorrelating genomic polymorphisms and environmental variations at sites of origin of genotypes combinedwith tests of signature of selection (Manel et al., 2010). We will implement this methodological frame to detectgenomic markers of climatic adaptation in the natural diversity of perennial ryegrass. We will use a genotypingmethod based on massively parallel sequencing technology applied to a high number of populations obtainedfrom genebanks of plant breeding research institutes or collected in situ across Europe. We will furthermoretake advantage of know-how and facilities of plant breeding research institutes participating in the project tophenotype these populations in fields and in controlled environment to record agronomic and ecophysiologicaltraits. These phenotypic data will be used to model associations between phenotypic variabilityand genomic polymorphisms. Association models between genomic polymorphisms and environmental variations will be used to mapthe spatial distribution of genomic markers linked to adaptive diversity in present climatic conditions and toforesee possible shifts in the spatial range fitting these markers in the context of several climate changescenarios based on the four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) of IPCC AR5 (Moss et al., 2010).On the basis of these results, we will define allelic profiles of perennial ryegrass expected to provide climaticadaptation at regional scale over Europe under the future climatic conditions foreseen by climate models. Wewill consider combining climatic adaptation and value for services (forage production and climate mitigation)by the recombination of alleles providing climatic adaptation and value for services. We will design severalgenetic pools mixing different natural populations for breeding regionally adapted populations to restorepermanent grasslands degraded climatic disruptions. Breeding and releasing improved genetic material willbe out of the scope of the project but will be discussed with stakeholders at the end of the project during adhoc meetings for implementation in further collaborative projects.