Start date: 01/05/2021
Finish date: 30/06/2025
Description:
Genetic mapping and high-throughput sequencing technologies have considerably boosted the identification of responsible genetic loci responsible for agronomic performance and stress tolerance in crops. Such knowledge further drives plant breeding innovations to precisely develop crop varieties with improved traits for specific environments.
Adopting novel biotechnologies helps unlock the genetic controls of key traits. Indeed, transient gene silencing techniques can rapidly validate the functional genes associated with trait expression. Furthermore, gene editing tools like CRISPR/Cas9 can rewrite genomic regions with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. It has been successfully applied to improve plant yield potential, grain quality, nutrient use efficiency, and disease/herbicide resistance in major cereal and horticultural crops.
This project will explore and adopt gene silencing and editing technologies for wheat, barley and lupin to accelerate functional genomics and genetic improvement. The project serves as proof of concept for efficient and targeted trait improvement using CRISPR technology and thus, the toolkit can dramatically enhance precise crop breeding. The generated mutants with altered performance in yielding, flowering or herbicide resistance will be profitable and precious genetic resources for future breeding practices.
Funding source:
Royalties for Regions