About the Project
Rationale for Oilseed Rape Genetic Improvement in the UK
Oilseed rape (OSR; Brassica napus) is the main break crop in the cereal rotation, and is grown on an increasing area of UK arable land. Recent annual area increases from 557,000 ha to 750,000 ha have resulted from reform of the C.A.P. and release of set-aside, as well as increased profitability due to world price rises. The latter has arisen in part from European and worldwide market demands for OSR-derived bio-diesel to meet the 2010 EU Renewable Fuel Objective.
OSR cultivation imposes a significant environmental footprint with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to 166,937 t CO2 p.a., of which 83% is associated with the manufacture and application of N fertiliser. OSR makes a large contribution to the 'nitrogen economy', with the crop receiving a greater rate of nitrogen (N) fertiliser (average 207 kg/ha) than almost any other arable crop when the N off-take is only 96 kg N/ha. As a result, during a typical arable rotation, the winter after an OSR crop often results in the highest level of N leaching. This is of particular concern since the majority of OSR is grown in nitrate vulnerable zones, with the crop contributing to diffuse pollution that can affect water quality. Moreover, the increasing OSR acreage in the wheat rotation extends the difficulties of restricting phosphate and nitrate efflux to water across a major proportion of the UK arable land area. UK arable crop production systems, and OSR in particular, will need to be able to adapt to the potential introduction of financial instruments associated with the EU water framework directive, other soil management regulations and mitigation measures for GHG emissions.
There is a strong case to focus efforts on the production of new crop cultivars with improved properties based on genetic research as a means of delivering strategic objectives and measurable changes in the environmental footprint of agricultural production. Crop breeding and exploitation of new, improved cultivars is recognised as an efficient and effective means of delivering public goods that reduce the environmental footprint of arable farming systems. The Stern report and a recent Defra-commissioned review (IF0101) both highlighted the fact that, in terms of input investment vs output, new cultivars significantly outperform other research activities. The Stern report highlighted in its summary the need for research investment in climate-resilient crops to address adaptation to climate change and the vital role that publicly-funded crop genetic improvement has to play in the future.
Due to the nature of crop breeding, it is essential for such activities to benefit from the continuity of involvement from all stakeholders. IF0101 emphasised that the sector has suffered from market failure in terms of the underpinning R&D. In order to remain competitive, commercial breeding has to focus on yield and quality attributes. Thus in order to deliver the sustainability outcomes desired by Defra it is essential to maintain Defra/public sector support at the pre-breeding stage. Breeders require a combination of: access to genetic diversity in a form that can be readily incorporated into breeding programmes, methods for trait assessment/selection, and knowledge of the genetic basis of the trait. The most critical requirement for ensuring the R&D pipeline is maintained is development of a pre-breeding 'toolkit' comprised of a combination of diverse germplasm, genetic markers to assist introgression and, crucially, the associated information and insights to place these resources and practical tools in context.
The primary goal of OREGIN (Defra project IF0144) is to provide a comprehensive, stable and reliable platform of resources and information for the exploitation of genetic diversity, to underpin pre-breeding activities. By acting as the hub for the UK OSR R&D sector, the project will enable the network of stakeholders to draw down strategic objectives to a set of crop-related themes and specific traits. The ongoing dialogue amongst the network will focus on identifying hypothesis-driven studies that enable beneficial crop traits to be dissected to a level that crop breeders can incorporate relevant alleles into breeding new varieties.
The key deliverables will take the form of a breeders and pre-breeding 'toolkit'. This requires i) genetic markers in the context of reference linkage maps; ii) a defined range of germplasm representing significant, useful allelic variation; iii) information to place these resources in context of trait variation amenable to breeding selection. This will be achieved via the following objectives:
1. Maintain and develop OREGIN seed and pathogen genetic resources, and enable resolution and introgression of useful variation
2. Quantify and characterise genetic variation for key traits
3. Delivering the pre-breeding toolkit: provision of integrated information to maximise utilisation of genetic diversity
