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Description
Due to an increase in the consumption of food, feed, fuel and to meet global food security needs for the rapidly growing human population, there is a necessity to breed for high yielding crops that can adapt to future climate changes. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is the dominant forage grass species in Europe due to its high regrowth capacity, rapid establishment, tolerance to frequent cutting and grazing, and high nutritive value for ruminant livestock. However, perennial ryegrass exhibits poor performance under unfavorable environmental conditions compared to other cool season forage grass species, thus the changing climate pose a substantial challenge to perennial ryegrass cultivation in the Baltic/Nordic region. In this project, we intend to utilize unique pre-breeding material, developed by the members of our consortium in the ongoing Nordic/Baltic Public-Private Partnership project on pre-breeding of perennial ryegrass and CRISPR-based editing to validate candidate genes involved in northern adaptation of perennial ryegrass. We will focus on genes involved in the mechanisms of freezing tolerance and biomass growth under water deficit. Moreover, we will investigate changes during abiotic stress periods at the transcriptome level to reveal gene regulatory pathways and networks. This project aims at improving perennial ryegrass for winter hardiness, persistence and biomass formation under water-limited conditions. This will enable us to utilize the gained information in future genomic selection programs to develop ryegrass cultivars with improved freezing and drought tolerance and persistence. It will also help breeders and agriculture in general in the Nordic/Baltic region to prepare for meeting new demands due to climate change and changing societal demands. Importantly, by improving forage production, dairy and meat industries will directly benefit and therefore this project contributes to safe and sustainable food systems.
Summary of project results
Project EditGrass4Food used transcriptomics and functional genomics approaches to increase sustainability of perennial ryegrass breeding for better adaptation to frost and drought for current and future climates. Perennial ryegrass is the dominant forage grass species in Europe due to its high regrowth capacity, rapid establishment, tolerance to frequent cutting and grazing and high nutritive value for ruminant livestock but is less suited to changing climate conditions in the Baltic States and Norway. Improving the tolerance of perennial ryegrass to abiotic stress in the context of climate change could lead to higher animal feed production and consequently to improved food production systems.
The team from University of Latvia, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Tallinn University of Technology and Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry characterized the function of genes that affect the resilience of the perennial ryegrass to frost and drought stress. In WP1 we developed an association genetics panel consisting of 300+ genotypes and identified sequence haplotypes of 10 candidate genes involved in frost and drought tolerance using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing technology. In WP2 we carried out phenotypic characterization of drought and freezing tolerance in the association panel genotypes, as well as identified differentially expressed genes in a set of 8 perennial ryegrass genotypes, consisting of 2 tolerant and 2 sensitive genotypes for each trait over time-course experiments. In WP3 we developed a protoplast test system for testing genome editing efficiency, and then proceeded to create a set of genome edited plants with potential knock-outs in the CBP20 and CBF6 candidate genes. In WP4 we adopted an efficient phenotyping system for characterization of drought and freezing tolerance in perennial ryegrass which is currently being used for phenotyping genome edited plants. Under WP5 we have ensured efficient management of research and transparent communication of research outputs through scientific publications, public events and social media. The process of scientific publications is still ongoing. Overall, we have achieved all the major goals of the EditGrass4Food project and have been able to deliver additional outcomes based on supplementary funding from the Baltic Research Program (additional senior researcher position), or development of technology, e.g., improved long-read sequencing technology. While the scientific publications are being developed, the project team is working on developing a genome editing network for forage grasses, which would allow us to extend and intensify scientific collaboration between Norway and the Baltic countries.
In the short term, the benefits of the project will give us knowledge of the regulation of abiotic stress endurance in plants. The experience and knowledge gained will be disseminated in the form of scientific publications. In the long term, the project results will provide forage and grassland plant breeders with useful information on genotypes with better abiotic stress endurance, as well as specific target genes involved in these processes. The use of genomically edited plants in breeding is subject to the adoption of the European Commission’s proposal in the field of New Genomic Techniques. If this proposal is approved by the European Parliament and the Council, it is possible that plant material from the project may be useful for practical breeding.
Indicators achieved in the project: 3 scientific publications have been prepared, 1 joint project application for further funding was submitted, 12 researchers were supported.
Summary of bilateral results
Implementation of the EditGrass4Food project facilitated collaboration among NMBU, LU, LAMMC and TalTech and, thus, contributed towards the objectives of the Baltic Research Program by reducing social and economic disparities in Baltic countries compared to Nordic region through advancing research collaboration between Norway and the Baltic States. Intensive communication between partners made it possible to match expectations with capabilities and set feasible project objectives. We conducted regular meetings (on- and off-line), as well as student exchanges. In parallel to the EditGrass4Food project, TalTech coordinated an EMP Research and Education project (EE-RESEARCH-0019) with NMBU entitled “An innovative platform for Estonia-Norway research-based teaching in bioinformatics and gene editing” (Dec 2021 - Nov 2023). At the beginning of the project COVID-19 pandemic limited the possibility for partners to meet face-to-face, while Russia’s invasion in Ukraine created additional stress and increased project costs. At the same time, these challenges created additional opportunities in the area of communication. It should be noted that the Baltic Research Programme provided an opportunity to financially support an Ukrainian scientist, which enabled the project to involve a specialist with significant experience in plant genetic transformation. We will continue to explore possibilities for further collaboration, e.g., through the European Plant Science Organization or COST Actions. The phenotypic characterization of genome edited plants will be continued in collaboration with LAMMC using their advanced phenotyping facility. This collaboration will be funded by internal LU and LAMMC funds, but further possibilities for funding will be sought in various national and international projects.