WheatSecurity

Wheat is an essential source of human calories and also provides substantial amounts of proteins, vitamins, fibre and phytochemicals. Much of the wheat grown globally is derived from a narrow genetic base, relative to the genetic resources available within germplasm repositories. Considering climate and legislative challenges, loss of biodiversity, geo-political conflicts, shifting diets and population trends, we need to rethink European wheat production practices and harness wheat’s underutilised genetic diversity to deliver sustainable food supplies into the future. The EU Green Deal challenges farmers to significantly reduce chemical crop inputs by 2030, but will also unlock the opportunity to better maintain and exploit ecosystem biodiversity to support sustainable crop production. By enhancing our understanding of the functional significance of wheat genetic diversity at the ecosystem level, including an in-depth assessment of the complex interplay between wheat and its host ecosystems, we can build new ideotypes that will enhance the resilience of the primary crop production system within the EU. The actions of WheatSecurity will underpin yield stability, mitigating the risk of yield loss from biotic/abiotic stress, exacerbated in many cases due to climate change. To achieve this, WheatSecurity will harness genetic resources and agrobiodiversity in order to increase the resilience and sustainability of wheat production in traditional and non-traditional wheat growing microclimatic zones within the EU. Building on the wealth of information available regarding the genetic diversity and performance of bread and durum wheat plus related germplasm, we will capitalise on ongoing national and international initiative to select a germplasm panel representing a broad genetic pool covering agroclimatic adaptation and including tetraploid, hexaploid, diverse and elite genotypes. We will cultivate this diverse germplasm panel in sites across Europe, including traditional and non-traditional wheat growing areas. Within these ring trials, we will assess agronomic performance, quality, abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, as well as interaction with microbial ecosystem components, and conversely the response of wheat’s primary pathogens and their ability to adapt. Network and association studies will be used to decipher the linkages between microbiome diversity and plant performance, testing the hypothesis that it may be possible to support a healthy microbiome adapted to a specific ecological niche based on the genetics of the propagated host varieties. The resilience of diverse wheat germplasm to multiple stress responses, alone and in combination, will be assessed using a combination of high throughput phenotyping under controlled conditions, genome-wide association studies, meta-transcriptomics, and DNA-based microbiome studies of roots, leaves and flowering wheat heads. These studies will enhance our understanding of the resilience of genotypes and haplotypes, and guide the development of ideotypes adapted to specific environmental niches. Varieties selected based on their performance in the glasshouse and field will then be evaluated for field performance at farm level across Europe. This project will increase the reference database of phenotypes and function genotypes for accessions under stressed environments, delineating progenitors that can be used to maximise biodiversity and multi-environment, multi-stress resilience. Thus, this project will improve our understanding of ecosystem functions, enhance our ability to increase the functional genetic diversity base of wheat, thereby enhancing the sustainability of Europe’s food production systems.