News
NIAB issues open invitation to members of new Defra Food Policy Council
[December 2008]
Dr Tina Barsby, chief executive of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), is writing to Dame Suzi Leather, chair of the new Defra Council of Food Policy Advisers, inviting Council Members to visit NIAB in Cambridge as part of their work to identify the measures needed to ensure the UK has a secure and sustainable food supply.
Welcoming today’s announcement of the membership of the Council of Food Policy Advisers by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, Dr Barsby said:
“Mr Benn is right to highlight the importance of securing our food needs in the face of population growth, climate change and water scarcity. These are indeed the major challenges facing our society in preparing for future generations.
“Action to address climate change is one aspect of this, and this includes an urgent need to reverse chronic under-spending in applied UK research for agriculture and food production. Only through continued progress in science and technology will the world meet its food needs – in particular through improvements in plant breeding and the development of higher-yielding, more climate resilient crop varieties.
“In recent decades the UK’s world-class plant science base has dramatically increased our understanding of fundamental plant genetics, but the pipeline from basic science through to applications of relevance to farmers – both in the UK and in developing regions of the world – is not functioning effectively.
“Building on our unique expertise in crop testing and evaluation, NIAB has invested in the research facilities and scientific staff to become the translational hub of UK plant science. Our aim is to re-connect the R&D pipeline by providing dedicated pre-breeding services capable of translating basic genetic discoveries into material suitable for use in commercial plant breeding programmes.
“By inviting members of the new Food Policy Council to visit NIAB, we aim to highlight the importance of revitalising the UK’s investment in translational plant science, to ensure the potential benefits of gene discovery in model crop species are effectively transferred into crops of relevance to plant breeders, farmers and end-users,” said Dr Barsby.
Issued by:
Daniel Pearsall, Front Foot Communications
T 01487 831425
E daniel.pearsall@frontfoot.uk.com
Board appointment strengthens NIAB research links with Cambridge University
[November 2008]
David Baulcombe, Royal Society Research Professor and Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge, has joined the Board of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB).
An award-winning scientist and a Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor Baulcombe leads a research team credited with advancing our knowledge of how plants fight disease, and in particular how a process known as RNA silencing controls a range of growth and developmental responses in plants.
Welcoming his new role at NIAB, Professor Baulcombe said:
“This is an exciting time for everyone involved in plant science. There has been a dramatic increase in our genetic understanding of plants, much of it led by UK scientists, opening up huge opportunities to improve crop plants for the benefit of society. This coincides with a time when the need to boost crop productivity is increasingly recognised at the highest political levels, not only to feed a rapidly growing world population but also to cope with the effects of climate change and develop renewable, plant-based alternatives to a range of depleting industrial resources.”
“However, there is also a recognition that the research pipeline which transfers new knowledge into improved crop varieties is not functioning effectively. Much of the basic research work takes place in model crop species, and there is a vital missing link in the translational research needed to turn new knowledge into material of relevance to UK agriculture.”
“I believe NIAB has a unique contribution to make in this area, acting as a bridge between basic research discoveries on one side, and the practical needs of plant breeders, farmers and consumers on the other,” he said.
Commenting on Professor Baulcombe’s appointment, NIAB chief executive Dr Tina Barsby said:
“Cambridge is rapidly consolidating its position as the pre-eminent location for plant science research and innovation. I believe we will see closer collaboration between researchers at NIAB and University departments, as well as an expansion of the thriving network of plant breeding and bioscience organisations in and around the city.”
“Professor Baulcombe’s appointment to the Board further strengthens NIAB’s links with those communities, and adds significantly to our prospects of success in helping to transform today’s scientific discoveries into tomorrow’s commercial crops,” she added.
Issued by:
Daniel Pearsall, Front Foot Communications
T: 01487 831425
E: daniel.pearsall@frontfoot.uk.com
NIAB course plugs vital skills gap in training for plant breeders
[November 2008]
The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) is to repeat its two-week intensive training course in ‘Quantitative Genetics in Plant Breeding’, after the first session held earlier this year was heavily over-subscribed.
Targeted at both existing and prospective plant breeders, the post-graduate level course aims to update practitioners on the role and application of statistical and quantitative genetics in practical plant breeding programmes.
Course tutor Dr Ian Mackay believes these skills are too often overlooked by universities and research institutes with the expansion of molecular genetics and genomics. Yet the genetic knowledge gained through these newer disciplines can be integrated into improved crop varieties most effectively through the application of quantitative genetics.
“The loss of training for plant breeders is particularly apparent in the field of statistics and quantitative genetics – never popular subjects among biologists,” said Dr Mackay.
“Yet at the heart of all breeding remains the need to design and analyse trials to rank varieties in order of merit, while developments in computing power and advanced software have opened up more sophisticated methods of analysis to improve the chances of breeding a successful variety.
“The future trend in plant breeding will be to combine the recent explosion in our understanding of plant genetics with increased use of the latest mathematical, quantitative and statistical methods. By focusing on the practical application of these methods in plant breeding programmes, the popularity of this course shows you can’t have one without the other,” he said.
This NIAB course is the only intensive training programme of its kind to provide the statistical and genetic background to such a wide spectrum of quantitative methods, traditional and new, which are relevant to plant breeding - from practical trial design and analysis through to the role of modern computer software in marker-assisted selection and association genetics.
Limited to 20 participants, the two-week course will take place at NIAB, Cambridge, from 16 to 27 March 2009. Further details available from Chris Dixon on +44 (0)1223 42269 or e-mail courses@niab.com
See link for application form.
Issued by:
Daniel Pearsall, Front Foot Communications
T: 01487 831425
E: daniel.pearsall@frontfoot.uk.com