A consortium of four UK research organisations, led by the John Innes Centre, has secured £3 million Defra funding to develop climate-resilient legume crops.
The Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network (PCGIN), established in 2008, received funding for the next five years to support research and improve breeding materials for peas, beans and other pulses in the UK. These crops help improve soil health, reducing the need for nitrogen fertiliser.
PCGIN collaborates with the University of Reading, NIAB in Cambridge, the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University, and Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) in Peterborough.
The research will tackle existing and new threats from pests and diseases, such as root rot in peas and bruchid beetles in faba beans, while also focusing on nutritional traits like protein content and flavour.
The consortium will use future climate impacts on UK pulse crops using Met Office models. Alongside traditional genetic improvement, they will develop gene-editing techniques for peas and faba beans.
PCGIN will invest in gene-editing for peas and faba beans to speed up genetic improvements and develop new resources. These efforts will support the cultivation of lentils and Phaseolus (baked beans) in the UK, focusing on identifying the genetic variations needed to resist local pests and diseases.
Janneke Balk, group leader at the John Innes Centre and co-lead of PCGIN, said: “Over the last 17 years, PCGIN has made critical contributions to pea and faba bean development that are now close to being brought to market. In the new funding phase, we will expand our research to lentil and common bean, which could be grown more widely in the future as we see higher temperatures in the UK.”
Sanu Arora, group leader at the John Innes Centre and co-lead of PCGIN, commented: “The next five years are key for developing new pulse crops for the UK. We need to work closely with farmers and growers to ensure that our research is targeting the traits that they need in their fields.”
Donal O’Sullivan, PCGIN collaborator at the University of Reading, stated: “This new phase of PCGIN comes at a critical juncture where we need to address the twin challenges of meeting growing demand for sustainably produced plant protein and at the same time mitigating the negative impacts of climate change.”
“Critically, it also enables the training of a new cohort of highly skilled pulse geneticists and brings together complementary skills and capabilities of the partners in a strong national network dedicated to maximising the health and sustainability opportunities represented by our pulse crops.”
Catherine Howarth, PCGIN collaborator at IBERS, added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to develop tools and genetic resources to enhance resilience to climate change in legumes such as peas and beans using the precision phenotyping platforms available at IBERS. These nitrogen fixing crops provide novel cropping options to enhance environmental sustainability and agrobiodiversity in the UK.”
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