Towards targeted breeding of a European SRC willow crop for diverse environments and future climates (BREDNET-SRC)

短轮伐柳(Salix属)是温带地区最先进的第二代能源作物之一。在英国和瑞典两个独立的领先项目的领导下，通过遗传和基因组方法的支持，这种作物的育种和改良得到了显著的加强。为了进一步促进作物的发展，需要能够在更广泛的环境中生长并且对未来气候具有抵抗力的品种。这里提出的研究将提高公共研究的有效性，支持欧洲柳树短轮作的遗传改良，将这两项领先的努力结合起来，并将它们瞄准这些目标。为此，它将采取共同的方法交付关键的基础研究，开发和共享关键的研究和遗传资源，并积极和集体地与利益攸关方合作，将这项研究付诸实践。这项研究将位于英国Rothamsted的欧洲领先的公共资助的SRC柳树遗传改良和公共育种计划与瑞典农业科学大学和乌普萨拉的长期瑞典柳树育种工作结合在一起；Lantmännen/Agroenergi AB作为欧洲首屈一指的私营柳树营销商；以及德国下萨克森州可再生资源网络(3N)在表型、科学交流、创新和政策互动方面的专业知识。该联盟将提供六项相互关联的研究成果：1.建立一个新的山柳树种群，包括从合作伙伴持有的现有独特种质集合中获得在整个欧洲具有潜在价值的种质；2.首次对柳树进行关联图谱绘制方法；3.在现有研究的基础上建立和共享现有研究，以确定种群中的候选基因和多态标记；4.在一系列环境下测试候选基因及其等位基因与关键生产力性状的关联；5.分析现有的公共研究成果，以期与整个欧洲柳树的遗传改良相关；6.主要利益攸关方，包括ERANET的供资当局，积极参与，以确保将研究成果付诸实践，以便研究为今后的有效研究提供公共遗产。近年来，瑞典和英国的育种计划在分子方法的支持下，在改良柳树SRC方面取得了重大进展。随着欧洲各地SRC柳树产量的增加，需要合适的品种来适应各种不同的环境。这项研究将为育种计划(包括合作伙伴的育种计划)提供对不同欧洲环境背景下产量的遗传基础的理解。它将首次在Willow中部署关联图谱方法，通过这些方法，候选克隆中基因的可测量特征与克隆在不同环境中的性能相关联。对欧洲一系列不同地点的种群进行表型分析将被用来将有益性状与基因变异联系起来，并提供对不同环境背景下产量的理解，包括边缘土地上的产量和与气候变暖相关的条件下的产量。人口和相关的特征数据还将提供宝贵的永久资源，在现有和未来的国家研究方案中使用，使ERANET的伙伴公共研究工作的效率和交付在较长期得到改进。

Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow (genus Salix) is amongst the most advanced second generation energy crops in temperate regions. Breeding and improvement of this crop has been significantly enhanced by underpinning with genetic and genomic approaches led by two independent leading programmes in the UK and Sweden. To further advance the crop, cultivars are needed that will grow on a wider range of environments and that are future climate proof. The research proposed here will increase the effectiveness of public research supporting the genetic improvement of willow for Short Rotation Coppice in Europe by combining the two leading efforts and targeting them towards these goals. It will do this by taking shared approach to the delivery of key underpinning research, developing and sharing key research and genetic resources, and by working proactively and collectively with stakeholders to deliver this research into practice. The research brings together Europe's leading publicly funded research based SRC willow genetic improvement and public breeding programme based at Rothamsted (UK) with the long-standing Swedish willow breeding effort at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and at Uppsala; Lantmännen/Agroenergi AB as the premier private sector marketer of willow in Europe; and the expertise in phenotyping, science communications, innovation and policy interactions in Lower Saxony's Network for Renewable Resources (3N) in Germany. This consortium will deliver six interconnected research outputs: 1. The establishment of a new S. viminalis population comprising accessions of potential value across Europe from existing unique germplasm collections held by partners; 2. The deployment of association mapping methodologies to willow for the first time; 3. Building on and sharing existing research to identify candidate genes and polymorphic markers within the population; 4. Testing candidate genes and their alleles for associations with key productivity traits under a range on environments; 5. The analyse of existing public research outputs for relevance to the genetic improvement of willow across Europe; 6. The proactive engagement of key stakeholders, including the ERANET's funding authorities, to ensure delivery into practice so that the research provides a public legacy for efficient research in the future. In recent years, Swedish and UK breeding programmes, underpinned by molecular approaches, have made significant progress in terms of improving willow SRC. As SRC willow production increases across Europe, suitable cultivars for a range of contrasting environments will be required. This research will deliver understanding into breeding programmes (including partners' breeding programmes) about the genetic basis of yield in the context of different European environments. It will deploy association mapping methodologies in willow for the first time through which the measurable characteristics of genes in candidate clones are associated with clone performance in diverse environments. Phenotyping of the population across a range of contrasting European sites will be used to link beneficial traits to variation in genes and provide an understanding of yield in the context of diverse environments, including on marginal land and under conditions relevant to a warmed climate. The population and associated trait data will also provide a valuable, permanent resource for use within existing and future national research programmes enabling the efficiency and delivery of the ERANET's partners public research effort to be improved in the longer term.