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Breeding lentils for higher yields with less resources

Nov 13, 2017

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U of S maps two of the largest legume genomes ever

By Kate Ayers

Staff Reporter

Farms.com

University of Saskatchewan (U of S) researchers and genomic company NRGene of Israel have sequenced two lentil genomes.

The two wild legume genomes that were mapped are the largest legume genomes ever assembled, according to Wednesday’s university release.

The project is looking to diversify the genetics of lentils grown in Canada.

“One of the (project’s) goals is to really understand the difference between the domesticated lentils that are grown in Canada versus wild lentils plants … to see if we can bring in beneficial traits from the wild species into our (lentil varieties),” Crystal Chan, project co-ordinator of the department of plant sciences at U of S said to Farms.com on Friday.

NRGene has made significant contributions to this project and the research is expected to propel lentil breeding efforts forward.

“NRGene’s technology has dramatically accelerated our research, which aims to shed light on lentil domestication and adaptation,” Kirstin Bett, a project lead at U of S, said in the release.

“Maintaining sustainable lentil production will play an important role in addressing the world’s need for an ecologically sound protein source that is also highly nutritious.”

The NRGene technology is crucial in making this research happen due to the vastness and complexity of the lentil genome.

“Without (NRGene, genome assembly) would take us probably another year and the quality wouldn’t be as good as (NRGene) has provided us,” said Chan.

Previously, breeders were only able to access a small fraction of germplasm diversity.

The research is expected to have an immediate impact on the world food supply, according to the release.

Canada is the world’s largest exporter of lentils, providing the crop for India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Lentils are a principle protein source in these countries.

“By being able to maintain the productivity through expanding the diversity in the breeding program, we will be able to continue to be the leading exporter,” said Chan.

Genome Canada is funding the $7.9-million research project, which is led by scientists Bett and Bert Vandenberg.

Photo credit: Derek Wright for the University of Saskatchewan

Video: Moving Ag Research Forward Through Collaboration

BY: Ashley Robinson

It may seem that public and private researchers have different goals when it comes to agricultural research. However, their different strategies can work in tandem to drive agricultural research forward. Public research may focus more on high-risk and applied research with federal or outside funding, while private sector researchers focus more on research application.

“For me, the sweet spot for public private sector research is when we identify problems and collaborate and can use that diverse perspective to address the different aspects of the challenge. Public sector researchers can work on basic science high risk solutions as tools and technologies are developed. They then can work with their private sector partners who prototype solutions,” Mitch Tuinstra, professor of plant breeding and genetics in Purdue University’s Department of Agronomy, said during the Jan. 10 episode of Seed Speaks.

Public researchers they have the flexibility to be more curiosity driven in their work and do discovery research. This is complimentary to private research, which focuses on delivering a product, explained Jed Christianson, canola product design lead for Bayer CropScience, explained during the episode.

“As a seed developer, we worry about things like new crop diseases emerging. Having strong public sector research where people can look into how a disease lifecycle cycle works, how widespread is it and what damage it causes really helps inform our product development strategies,” he added.

It’s not always easy though to develop these partnerships. For Christianson, it’s simple to call up a colleague at Bayer and start working on a research project. Working with someone outside of his company requires approvals from more people and potential contracts.

“Partnerships take time, and you always need to be careful when you're establishing those contracts. For discoveries made within the agreement, there need to be clear mechanisms for sharing credits and guidelines for anything brought into the research to be used in ways that both parties are comfortable with,” Christianson said.

Kamil Witek, group leader of 2Blades, a non-profit that works with public and private ag researchers, pointed out there can be limitations and challenges to these partnerships. While private researchers are driven by being able to make profits and stay ahead of competitors, public researchers may be focused on information sharing and making it accessible to all.

“The way we deal with this, we work in this unique dual market model. Where on one hand we work with business collaborators, with companies to deliver value to perform projects for them. And at the same time, we return the rights to our discoveries to the IP to use for the public good in developing countries,” Witek said during the episode.

At the end of the day, the focus for all researchers is to drive agricultural research forward through combining the knowledge, skills and specializations of the whole innovation chain, Witek added.

“If there's a win in it for me, and there's a win in it for my private sector colleagues in my case, because I'm on the public side, it’s very likely to succeed, because there's something in it for all of us and everyone's motivated to move forward,” Tuinstra said.