BBSRC Core Strategic Programme in Resilient Crops: Miscanthus

Project: Externally funded research

Project Details

Description

The UK is committed to an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 as a result of the Climate Change Act (2008). Plants have been recognised as playing a pivotal role in helping to achieve such a target and the Energy Technologies Institute have estimated that the costs of the UK energy system would be up to £44 billion higher per year without bioenergy. Miscanthus belongs to a unique group of grasses which exhibit C4 photosynthesis and are capable of both extremely high yields and extreme environmental stress tolerance. Miscanthus has the highest output to input energy ratio for biomass production of any plant species because of its highly efficient photosynthesis and nutrient recycling; and is therefore an ideal feedstock for industrial biotechnology and bioenergy. The aim of our project is to gain detailed mechanistic understanding of the biological traits that underpin the development of climate proof Miscanthus crops, resilient to environmental stresses. Collectively, detailed understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with domestication, biomass yield productivity and stress tolerance, will allow us to accelerate domestication and define future Miscanthus ideotypes for different UK environments and end-uses.

Domestication: The increased need for climate proof crops is driving a need for integration of diversity into existing crops and the novel domestication of plant species. Miscanthus is an outcrossing perennial genus, with high performing genotypes being the result of wide hybridisation and often polyploidisation. In Miscanthus we will therefore study the very early processes of domestication and the consequences of different genomes coming together, including the role of epigenetics and heterosis.
Biomass yield components: Miscanthus exhibits a number of characteristics which combine to result in high biomass productivity. We will focus on understanding the genetic and physiological control of early season growth and late season senescence contributing to the high radiation use efficiency. Building on multi-year field phenotyping of 1000 plants and genotyping-by-sequencing), we will identify quantitative trait loci and genes associated with key traits. Exemplar plants will be used in controlled environment experiments to determine the base temperature for growth, and its effect on bud morphology, metabolites and transcripts.
Stress tolerance and environmental change: Resilience requires plants and crops to be tolerant to multiple stresses at different life stages, and Miscanthus as a long season perennial is an excellent system in which to study tolerance to multiple stresses, e.g. summer drought followed by winter waterlogging, and the epigenetic memory of stress exposure. We will compare photosynthetic performance of parents and hybrids under temperature, water and nutrient stresses.
Defining of energy crop ideotypes: Successful ideotypes, identified using data from the science described above, will be used to update an existing process model. The model will be used to test for resilience under different climate scenarios and to understand the potential sensitivities attributable to different traits within the ideotype.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date01 Apr 201731 Mar 2020

Funding

  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council: £1,044,509.00

UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This project contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 15 - Life on Land

Fingerprint

Explore the research topics touched on by this project. These labels are generated based on the underlying awards/grants. Together they form a unique fingerprint.