** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED FOR SUSTAINABLEINCREASES IN WHEAT PRODUCTIVITY TO FEED A GROWING HUMAN POPULATION IN RAPIDLY CHANGING GROWING ENVIRONMENTS. WHEAT VARIETIES DEVELOPED BY PUBLIC WHEAT BREEDING PROGRAMS ACCOUNT FOR ~60% OF THE US WHEAT ACREAGE AND CONTRIBUTE >$4 BILLION IN ANNUAL PRODUCTION VALUE. FURTHER INCREASES IN PRODUCTIVITY ARE REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN COMPETITIVENESS OF US WHEAT. THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A NATIONALLY COORDINATED CONSORTIUM OF PUBLIC WHEAT BREEDERS AND RESEARCHERS TO ACCELERATE RATES OF IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN YIELD. BREEDING CYCLES WILL BE SHORTENED BY IMPLEMENTING HIGH-THROUGHPUT GENOTYPING AND PHENOTYPING TECHNOLOGIES INTEGRATED WITH A CENTRALIZED DATA STORAGE AND INFORMATICS ANALYSIS PLATFORM. TO ADDRESS NATIONAL NEEDS FOR MORE PLANT BREEDERS, THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE MULTIDISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN MODERN PLANT BREEDING TO A COHORT OF 20 PHD STUDENTS PLACED IN ACTIVE BREEDING PROGRAMS. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ARE TO I) IMPLEMENT GENOMIC SELECTION (GS) IN PUBLIC WHEAT BREEDING PROGRAMS, II) IMPLEMENT AN UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (UAS) HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING (HTP) CENTRALIZED DATA ANALYSIS PIPELINE, III) DEVELOP DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS WITHIN BREEDBASE TO ENABLE GS IMPLEMENTATION IN THE BREEDING PROGRAMS, IV) CHARACTERIZE NATURAL AND INDUCED REGULATORY VARIANTS AFFECTING GENE EXPRESSION IN WHEAT AND INTEGRATE THEM INTO OUR GS PLATFORMS, V) TRAIN A NEW COHORT OF 20 PLANT BREEDERS. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE INTEGRATED EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PRIORITIES IN THE FOLLOWING FOCUS AREAS: I) INTEGRATION BETWEEN GENOTYPING AND HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING FOR SOURCE- AND SINK- RELATED TRAITS, II) IMPLEMENTATION OF GENOMIC SELECTION APPROACHES INTO ACTIVE PUBLIC BREEDING PROGRAMS AND CULTIVAR PRODUCTION, AND III) FUNCTIONAL GENOMIC STUDIES TO IDENTIFY PATHWAYS AFFECTING PLANT PRODUCTIVITY AND DEPLOYMENT OF THIS INFORMATION INTO GENOMIC SELECTION.

University Of California, Davis

Investigators