Defra Crop Genetic Improvement Platform
Defra’s ambition is for the UK to be a world leader in the food and farming industry, and to provide a cleaner, healthier environment which benefits people and the economy.
Defra continues to support long-term Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) to improve major UK crop varieties. Since 2018 the GINs have been brought together under the Crop Genetic Improvement Platform. This common governance structure encourages cross fertilisation of ideas and develops shared understanding of new approaches and technologies.
The GINs aim to enhance the productivity, sustainability and resilience of the main UK crops by drawing upon genetic resources in UK gene banks and diversity collections. The GINs develop tools to help breeders incorporate beneficial genes into elite varieties, ensuring UK crops are being grown more efficiently, with reduced environmental impact and increased economic potential.
Wheat Genetic Improvement Network
WGIN provides genetic and molecular resources for research in other Defra projects and for a wide range of wheat research projects in the UK. The resources under development include wheat genetic stocks, mapping populations, molecular markers and marker technologies, trait identification and evaluation, genomics and bioinformatics.
Upcoming and recent events
Annual stakeholder event
The 2024 WGIN Stakeholders’ Meeting took place as a hybrid event at the JIC on 8th February 2024. The event was BASIS points registered and by targeted advertising we ensured high participation by farmers, farm advisors and agronomists. The invited five-person panel discussion was on ‘Climate change: the implications for breeding and the wheat crop – 10 years plus’ to reflect increasing concerned over the growing single and compound risks now occurring each year on farms and the inability to predict in advance what weather extremes will be encountered within each growing season and how long each may last. Introductory presentations were given by Thomas Crocker (Met Office) and Sarah Gurr (University of Exeter). The additional panel discussion members were Joe Brennan (UK Flour Millers), Oorbessy Gaju (Reshmi) (University of Lincoln), Chris Burt (RAGT) and Joe Stanley (farmer and ARAgS, The Allerton Project). Peter Shewry (RRes), our longstanding WGIN chairman, guided the discussion throughout. This panel discussion was video recorded, and a copy is available from the WGIN homepage (www.wgin.org.uk), under the Stakeholders tab. We also included for the first time a separate Q&A session on Climate Change from the Farmers’ perspective, involving two farmer, Richard Cross and Joe Stanley in conversation with the leader of the BOFIN group Tom Allen-Stevens. In total ~120 attendees took part in the SH event for the entire day, with very good industry representation.
Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network
jic.ac.uk/pulse-crop-genetic-improvement-network-pcgin
The Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network is managed by the John Innes Centre, NIAB, University of Reading, PGRO and Aberystwyth University, it maintains an expanding stakeholder base, and carries out research into the genetics of traits relevant to the agronomy and quality of pea and faba bean.
Upcoming and recent events
PCGIN Stakeholder Meeting
17 November 2021 (virtual meeting)
Please contact Debra Canton-Stoker (debra.canton.stoker@jic.ac.uk) to register interest.
8th International Legume Root Diseases workshop (ILRD8)
(Postponed)
Keynote talks from expert speakers will be supplemented by oral presentations and posters selected from abstract submissions in five sessions: 1) Survey, occurrence and epidemiology, 2) Pathogen biology, population genetics & genomics, 3) Plant-pathogen-microorganisms interactions, 4) Genetics, genomics and breeding for resistance, 5) Integrated disease management.
Advances in Legume Science and Practice 2
(Postponed until September 2021)
The organisers of the AAB Conference: Legume Science and Practice 2 have provided an update relating to the COVID‑19 pandemic. It has been decided to postpone the conference until a date in September 2021. AAB will provide further updates as further information becomes available. Please inform your colleagues and people within your networks of this decision.
Venue: Ecole Superiore d’Agriculture (ESA), Angers, France
Website: Advances in Legume Science and Practice
Oilseed Rape Genetic Improvement Network
OREGIN is primarily a network-building programme directly involving 12 stakeholder and academic partners, focused on the generation, analysis and dissemination of information and genetic resources to underpin the pre-breeding of rapeseed for priority traits.
Links
Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network
warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/research/vegin
The two principle aims of the Defra funded Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network (VeGIN) are: 1) to establish an effective network of researchers in order to provide links to industry, encourage knowledge transfer and to promote market delivery of R&D. 2) to develop the genetic resources and tools to accelerate breeding for improved, sustainable marketable yield in field vegetables.
Upcoming and recent events
VeGIN stakeholder meeting
18 November 2020 (may be hosted online)