Increased funding for sustainable pulse crops in the UK

A consortium of four UK research organisations led by the John Innes Centre has won £3m Defra funding to enable the development of climate resilient legume crops.

The Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network (PCGIN) which started in 2008, has received the funding boost for the next five years.

The money will support PCGIN-affiliated researchers and its stakeholder network in delivering its mission: to provide improved breeding material for the cultivation of peas, beans and other pulses in the UK.

Pulse crops are an important alternative protein source, and their cultivation improves soils in rotation schemes, reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizer.

The research will address existing and new threats from pests and diseases, such as root rot in pea and bruchid beetle in faba bean. It will also target nutritional traits such as protein content, minerals and flavour components.

Professor Janneke Balk, group leader at the John Innes Centre and co-lead of PCGIN said: “Over the last 17 years PCGIN has made critical contributions to pea and faba bean development that are now close to being brought to market. In the new funding phase, we will expand our research to lentil and common bean, which could be grown more widely in the future as we see higher temperatures in the UK.”

PCGIN, led by the John Innes Centre, is in collaboration with the University of Reading, Niab in Cambridge, the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University, and PGRO, the Processors and Growers Research Organisation, Peterborough.

The consortium will also look at future climate impacts on UK pulse crops using models from the Met Office. In addition to conventional genetic improvement, gene editing methods will be developed for pea and faba bean.

Dr Sanu Arora, group leader at the John Innes Centre and co-lead of PCGIN, said: “The next five years are key for developing new pulse crops for the UK. We need to work closely with farmers and growers to ensure that our research is targeting the traits that they need in their fields.”

Climate change poses an enormous threat to agriculture, both in the UK and around the world. Legumes, including peas, beans and lentils have a major environmental benefit because they can harvest, or fix, nitrogen from the air with the help of symbiotic bacteria in the soil. This means that they can be grown without the need for inorganic sources of nitrogen, in the form of fertilisers, which have a damaging impact on biodiversity and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

Nearly half of the protein in the human diet comes from plants, mostly pulses. The protein composition is different from animal protein, and less ideal for essential amino acids. Understanding the genetic basis of variation in protein enables breeding for better varieties with a more nutritious content, or properties suitable for plant-based alternatives of meat.

PCGIN will invest in gene-editing of pea and faba bean to accelerate genetic improvement and will develop new genetic resources. The latter includes resources to enable cultivation of lentils and Phaseolus (baked beans) in the UK and address questions such as: what types of genetic variation do we need to ensure resistance to local pests and diseases?

Dr Donal O’Sullivan, PCGIN collaborator at the University of Reading said: “This new phase of PCGIN comes at a critical juncture where we need to address the twin challenges of meeting growing demand for sustainably produced plant protein and at the same time mitigating the negative impacts of climate change.”

“Critically, it also enables the training of a new cohort of highly skilled pulse geneticists and brings together complementary skills and capabilities of the partners in a strong national network dedicated to maximizing the health and sustainability opportunities represented by our pulse crops.”

Dr Catherine Howarth, PCGIN collaborator at IBERS, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to develop tools and genetic resources to enhance resilience to climate change in legumes such as peas and beans using the precision phenotyping platforms available at IBERS. These nitrogen fixing crops provide novel cropping options to enhance environmental sustainability and agrobiodiversity in the UK.”

PCGIN Fact File 

• PCGIN 2024 – 2029 includes new objectives on climate change relevant to pulse crops in the UK and precision breeding (gene editing);

• From its inception in 2008 until 2024 this PCGIN was led by Professor Claire Domoney, of the John Innes Centre.

• PCGIN is managed by the John Innes Centre in collaboration with the University of Reading, Niab, Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University and PGRO (Processors and Growers Research Organisation).

• For more information: Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network (PCGIN) (www.pcgin.org

The John Innes Centre is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant science and microbiology.

Our mission is to generate knowledge of plants and microbes through innovative research, to train scientists for the future, to apply our knowledge of nature’s diversity to benefit agriculture, the environment, human health, and wellbeing, and engage with policy makers and the public.

To achieve these goals we establish pioneering long-term research objectives in plant and microbial science, with a focus on genetics. These objectives include promoting the translation of research through partnerships to develop improved crops and to make new products from microbes and plants for human health and other applications. We also create new approaches, technologies and resources that enable research advances and help industry to make new products. The knowledge, resources and trained researchers we generate help global societies address important challenges including providing sufficient and affordable food, making new products for human health and industrial applications, and developing sustainable bio-based manufacturing.

This provides a fertile environment for training the next generation of plant and microbial scientists, many of whom go on to careers in industry and academia, around the world.

The John Innes Centre is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and is supported by the John Innes Foundation through provision of research accommodation, capital funding and long-term support of the Rotation PhD programme.

For more information about the John Innes Centre visit our website www.jic.ac.uk

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