Exploitation of interspecific biodiversity for wheat improvement

到2050年，世界人口将从60亿增加到90亿，因此粮食产量需要比目前水平增加70%。此外，气候变化和发展低投入农业的需要将大大减少小麦等作物的产量。不幸的是，由于现代育种的失败，在现代小麦品种中可用于育种者开发上级适应基因型的遗传变异相对较少。小麦的野生近缘种（外来物种）提供了大量尚未开发的遗传变异（如对非生物和生物胁迫的耐受性、生物量、产量和光合潜力）。这种变异可用于开发适应气候变化的新的高产品种和环境友好型农业作物。以前成功地将外来物种渗入小麦的例子包括来自伞形山羊草的叶锈病抗性（1960年美国小麦生产免于灾难性失败）;抵抗一系列疾病，耐酸性土壤和增加黑麦产量优势（在20世纪90年代后期，1B/1 R易位存在于世界上大多数小麦品种中，并且仍然存在于主要品种如“Rialto”中）;来自Ae.赋予对眼斑病的抗性的ventricosa存在于许多小麦品种中;欧洲的许多顶级小麦品种，例如“Robigus”，携带来源于来自二粒小麦（Triticum dicoccoides）的基因渗入的基因。BBSRC最近资助了一项研究计划，旨在将野生亲缘植物的遗传变异转移到小麦上。这些品系最终将被开发用于开发新的上级高产小麦品种，这些品种适应气候变化和环境友好型农业模式。这项受资助的研究方案正在开发：（1）通过小麦与其远亲杂交产生的大量小麦/外来杂交种;（2）一系列携带来自一系列外来物种的单染色体片段的小麦品系。为了充分发挥这一计划的潜力，必须在多种环境中筛选产生的小麦/外来种质的各种性状。为了做到这一点，本申请将组装涉及英国、澳大利亚和印度的组的国际作物生理学集群。虽然这项研究将在全球范围内应用，但该方案的重点将集中在开发印度的上级小麦品种上。近年来，印度的小麦生产停滞不前，新品种未能显著提高产量潜力，主要原因是生物和非生物胁迫的不利影响。因此，引进能够抵御这些胁迫的外来种质对印度未来的小麦生产至关重要。该小组将进行研究，并筛选正在开发的小麦/外来种质的一系列性状，包括耐热、耐旱、耐老化、耐老化和耐老化。（包括水的利用效率）、酸性和碱性土壤和盐;抗病能力;作为这项研究的结果，作物生理学集群将能够鉴定携带基因的特定外来染色体片段，例如赋予对生物/植物的抗性/耐受性的基因。这些外来染色体片段将直接纳入印度DWR和ARI的小麦育种计划。此外，从该计划获得的数据将被送回BBSRC资助的种质计划，特别是与英国相关的育种者进行商业开发。澳大利亚育种者也将利用这些材料，从而在BBSRC和谷物研究与开发公司（GRDC）之间建立进一步的联系。

The world's population is set to increase from 6-9 billion by 2050 and thus food production needs to increase by 70% over its present levels. In addition, climate change and the need to develop lower-input farming practises will significantly reduce the production of crops such as wheat. Unfortunately, due to modern breeding practises relatively little genetic variation is available in modern wheat varieties for breeders to develop superior adapted genotypes. The wild relatives (alien species) of wheat provide a vast and largely untapped reservoir of genetic variation (for traits such as tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress, biomass, yield and photosynthetic potential). This variation can be exploited for the development of new high yielding varieties adapted to climate change and environmentally friendly agricultural practises. Examples of previously successful introgressions from alien species into wheat include leaf rust resistance from Aegilops umbellulata (which saved US wheat production from catastrophic failure in 1960); resistance to a range of diseases, tolerance to acid soils and increased yield advantage from rye (in the late 1990s a 1B/1R translocation was present in the majority of the world's wheat varieties and is still present in leading varieties such as "Rialto"); a gene from Ae. ventricosa conferring resistance to eyespot is present in many wheat varieties; many of the top wheat varieties in Europe, e.g. "Robigus", carry genes derived from introgressions from Triticum dicoccoides. The BBSRC have recently funded a research programme aimed at transferring genetic variation to wheat from its wild relatives. These lines will ultimately be exploited to develop new superior high yielding wheat varieties which are adapted to climate change and environmentally friendly farming practises. This funded research programme is in the process of developing 1) large numbers of wheat/alien hybrids, produced by crossing wheat with its distant relatives, and 2) a series of lines of wheat carrying single chromosome segments derived from a range of alien species. For the full potential of this programme to be realised it is essential that the wheat/alien germplasm being generated is screened for a diverse range of traits in multiple environments. In order to do this the present application will assemble an international crop physiology cluster involving groups in the UK, Australia and India. While the research will have global application the emphasis of this programme will focus on developing superior Indian wheat varieties. Over recent years wheat production has stagnated in India with new varieties failing to provide significant improvements in yield potential primarily because of the adverse affects of biotic and abiotic stresses. The introduction of alien germplasm which combats these stresses is thus of critical importance for future wheat production in India.This group will undertake research and screen the wheat/alien germplasm being developed for a range of traits including tolerance to heat, drought (including water use efficiency), acid and alkaline soils and salt; resistance to disease; increased photosynthetic capacity/biomass production and nitrogen use efficiency.As a result of this research the crop physiology cluster will enable the identification of specific alien chromosome segments that carry genes that e.g. confer resistance/tolerance to biotic/abiotic stresses, etc. These alien chromosome segments will be directly incorporated into wheat breeding programmes in India at DWR and at the ARI. Furthermore, the data obtained from this programme will be channelled back into the BBSRC funded germplasm programme and in particular to the breeders associated with it in the UK for commercial exploitation. The material will also be exploited by Australian breeders thus providing a further link between the BBSRC and the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).