BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme: Delivering Sustainable Wheat (DSW) Partner Grant

提供可持续小麦计划是必要的，因为小麦是不可或缺的全球主食，也是英国和西欧的主要作物。到2050年，小麦将在养活10亿世界人口方面发挥关键作用，但其产量是脆弱的，因为世界上一半以上的供应仅来自五个国家。这种脆弱性在重要小麦出口国乌克兰的战争中得到了悲剧性的体现。未来小麦产量的增加必须在化肥(氮肥是温室气体的主要来源)和水使用(所有小麦种植区都遭受地下水下降)方面没有同等增长的情况下实现。在面临这些挑战的同时，农民还面临着气候变化和新疾病的限产效应。为了在未来几十年实现可持续生产，需要进行调整。小麦在提供人类营养方面也发挥着重要作用。随着进一步的改进，通过用更有营养的小麦来填补饮食缺口，有可能减少人类的痛苦和医疗成本。农业部将通过与国际小麦社区的紧密联系，为应对这些挑战形成独特的协调一致的英国贡献。它在这方面处于有利地位，因为目前的小麦计划(DFW)已经为小麦研究开发了一个世界领先的实验平台。广泛的专业基因发现群体使我们能够对可用的大多数自然多样性进行采样，并展示这种多样性的哪些元素对育种人员应对所述挑战有用。DFW发现了其中1000个品系的遗传密码。这意味着，在定位有用基因后，DSW可以了解它们在控制目标特征的分子网络中的作用。通过基因编辑，这些DNA变化的功能将得到证实。这些工具和资源因公开和公平的数据访问而可用，它们功能强大，但需要针对正确的问题。DSW的重点是通过与尽可能广泛的小麦专家小组进行长期讨论而选择的作物特性。它将促进对产量决定的理解，在不增加化肥使用量的情况下提高生产率，从而将二氧化碳排放降至最低。小麦发展的替代策略将被发现，它以最小的温度敏感度增加产量。农业部甚至将研究小麦如何成为二氧化碳汇并实现净零状态，例如通过深深扎根，并评估这些反映农业变化的耕作系统的新特征，例如从耕作转向减少耕作。这项研究有赖于对光合作用动态过程的深入了解。DSW将针对现有的疾病威胁识别新的抗病能力，并在预测新威胁方面发挥作用。将找到可持续抗病的长期解决办法，并将其纳入可持续的综合虫害管理方案。增加小麦营养价值的目标将集中在铁、锌、钙和纤维上。小麦计划将首次进行人类干预试验，为营养改良小麦的生理益处提供直接证据。在该方案的核心，公开和公平的数据获取将确保社会福利署提供服务。同样，DSW已经为植物育种者建立了一个平台，可以将这项出色的研究转化为进展。DSW投资于前期育种，让新基因、新知识和新类型的小麦投入育种。这一高度整合的跨学科方案不可能由任何一家机构实现。DSW汇集了四个研究所(John Innes Centre、Rothamsted、Quadram Institute和Earlham)和五所大学(利兹、诺丁汉、兰开斯特、布里斯托尔和帝国理工学院)和国家农业植物学研究所的互补技能。

Delivering Sustainable Wheat (DSW) programme is needed because wheat is an indispensable global staple and the major crop of the UK and Western Europe. Wheat will play a crucial part in feeding a world population of 10B by 2050 but its production is fragile as more than half the world supply is from just five countries. This fragility has been tragically demonstrated by the war in Ukraine, an important wheat exporter. Future increases in wheat production have to be achieved without equivalent growth in fertiliser (nitrogen fertilisers are a major source of greenhouse gasses) and water use (all wheat growing regions suffer ground water decline). While facing these challenges farmers are also confronted with yield limiting effects of climate change and new diseases. Adaptations are needed to achieve sustainable production in the coming decades. Wheat also plays an important role in delivering human nutrition. With further enhancements, reductions in human misery and healthcare costs are possible by filling dietary gaps with more nutritious wheat. DSW will form a uniquely coordinated UK contribution to these challenges with strong linkages to the international wheat community. It is in a strong position to do this because the current wheat programme (DFW) has developed a world leading experimental platform for wheat research. Extensive specialist gene discovery populations allow us to sample the majority of natural diversity available and to show which elements of this diversity are useful for breeders in tackling the challenges described. DFW uncovered the genetic code for 1000s of these lines. This means that after locating useful genes DSW can understand their role in molecular networks controlling targeted characteristics. With gene editing the function of these DNA changes will be proved. These tools and resources, accessible because of open and fair data access, are powerful but need to be directed towards the right questions. DSW is focussed on crop characteristics chosen in long term discussion with the widest possible group of wheat experts. It will advance understanding of yield determination to increase productivity without equal rates of increase in fertiliser use, so minimising CO2 emissions. Alternative strategies of wheat development which increases yield with minimal sensitivity to temperature will be uncovered. DSW will even investigate how wheat can be a CO2 sink and achieve Net Zero status, for example by deep rooting and assess these new characteristics in farming systems that reflect changes in agriculture, such as the move from ploughing to reduced cultivation practices. This research depends on a deep understanding of the dynamic process of photosynthesis. DSW will identify new disease resistances for existing disease threats and play its part in predicting new threats. Long term solutions for sustainable disease resistance will be found and incorporated into sustainable integrated pest management programmes. The goal to increase nutritional benefits of wheat will focus on Iron, Zinc, Calcium and fibre. For the first time, the wheat programme will conduct human intervention trials to provide direct evidence for the physiological benefits of nutritionally improved wheat. At the heart of the programme, open and fair data access will ensure that DSW delivers. Again, DSW has set up the platform that this excellent research can be translated into progress for plant breeders. DSW invests in pre-breeding so that the new genes, knowledge and new types of wheat feed into breeding. This highly integrated cross disciplinary programme could not be achieved by any one institution. DSW brings together the complementary skills of four research Institutes (John Innes Centre, Rothamsted, Quadram Institute, and Earlham) and five universities (Leeds, Nottingham, Lancaster, Bristol, and Imperial College) and the National Institute of Agricultural Botany.