Strategies to optimise pollination of the UK field bean crop

授粉是我们食物供应生产的重要组成部分，我们大约三分之一的食物是由动物昆虫授粉产生的。确保传粉媒介的充足供应对于维持全球粮食安全至关重要。然而，在世界许多地方，传粉媒介的数量已经下降，气候变化很可能会进一步破坏植物和昆虫之间的关系。我们建议探索策略，以最大限度地提高英国大田豆作物的授粉。菜豆被用作动物饲料，提供重要的蛋白质供应，因为它们固定氮。最近的报告表明，授粉服务限制了大田大豆的产量。我们的方法将是探索优化田间豆花的策略，以最小的觅食能量消耗为传粉者提供最大的能量奖励。这将有双重好处，增加传粉者对现有作物的吸引力，从而提高产量，同时也支持野生传粉者种群，从而增加未来传粉者种群规模（从而增加未来产量）。我们将结合分析、分子遗传学和行为生态学技术来探索提高授粉的策略。我们将筛选商业种植的品系，寻找与传粉媒介相关的性状变异，并确定可能在育种计划中使用的遗传变异。我们将使用分子遗传学方法来探索关键性状的发展。利用笼养的大黄蜂设施，我们将评估我们确定的变化如何影响传粉者的行为。任何看起来吸引更多传粉者或促进传粉者处理的品系都将在封闭的大黄蜂群落的温室中进行试验，以评估对坐果的影响。然后，这些品系将在PGRO的田间试验点进行田间条件测试，以探索非自然条件下的产量，并为未来英国大田大豆的选择性育种制定策略。

Pollination is an essential part of the production of our food supply, with approximately one thirdof our food resulting from animal insect pollination. Ensuring an adequate supply of pollinators isessential to maintain global food security. However, pollinator populations have declined in manyparts of the world, and it is likely that climate change will further uncouple relationships betweenplants and insects.We propose to explore strategies to maximise pollination of the UK field bean crop. Field beansare used as animal feed, providing an important protein supply because they fix nitrogen. Recentreports suggest that pollination service is limiting yields in field beans.Our approach will be to explore strategies for optimising field bean flowers to provide maximumenergetic reward to pollinators for minimum foraging energy expenditure. This will have the dualbenefit of increasing pollinator attraction to current crops, thus increasing yield, while alsosupporting wild pollinator populations, thus increasing future pollinator population sizes (andthus future yield).We will use a combination of analytical, molecular genetic and behavioural ecology techniques toexplore strategies to enhance pollination. We will screen commercially grown lines for variationin pollinator-relevant traits and identify genetic variation of potential use in breeding programmes.We will use molecular genetic approaches to explore the development of key traits. Using ourcaged bumblebee facility we will assess how the variations we identify influence pollinatorbehaviour. Any lines that appear to attract additional pollinators or facilitate pollinator handling willbe trialled in greenhouses with enclosed bumblebee colonies, to assess the effects on fruit set.Such lines will then be tested in field conditions at PGRO's field trails site, to explore yield undernatural conditions and to develop strategies for future selective breeding of the UK field beancrop.