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Project title

RecoBar

Primary Funding Agency

DAFM

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

University College Dublin (UCD)

Lead Applicant

n/a

Project Abstract

Barley is one of the main crops in Europe regarding cultivated area, economic output and agroecological impact. Barley success relies on an extraordinary genetic diversity that allowed its adaptation to environments far removed geographically and climatically from its centre of origin. However, future breeding must respond to the sum of challenges posed by a changing climate, increasing resource limitation, and the societal mandate for sustainable production and environment-aware agriculture. Plant scientists must rethink the processes that shaped crop adaptation, harness the wealth of scientific knowledge generated during the genomic revolution, and re-start a data-driven exploitation of genetic diversity to harness new diversity based on knowledge acquired. The RecoBar project builds on a rich catalogue of germplasm, a variety of approaches addressing the use of barley diversity in novel ways, and a solid foundation of previous knowledge (genotypic, phenotypic and functional) built during past collaborations. RecoBar proposes a variety of approaches to broaden barley's genetic base and its impact at different scales: exploration of the wide diversity harboured by old varieties and landraces for adaptation to shifting climates, discovery and deployment of genes affecting key traits, exploration of targeted modification of known genes, improvement of functional crop growth models applied to genomic prediction with newly unravelled genetic diversity, and evaluation of soil microbiota diversity dynamics in relation to barley diversity. Altogether, RecoBar will expand our knowledge on barley Agrobiodiversity, improve barley adaptation to changing climates and promote sustainable crop production.

Grant Approved

�1,755,000.00

Research Hub

n/a

Research Theme

Ireland's Future Climate, its Impacts, and Adaptation Options

Start Date

01/01/2023

Initial Projected Completion Date

31/12/2025