29 - Breeding principles and variety, seed and microorganism research

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Objective

The research projects in this programme aim to exploit the potential of new technological developments for breeding, and for microbiome, seed and plant material research and make new methods available to practitioners.

Another important aim is to develop tangible characteristics and breeding targets and to preserve and describe collections of genetic resources (incl. microorganisms).

• Specific objectives

  • Develop methods and apply them to the preservation, characterisation and utilisation of genetic resources (plants, animals, microorganisms). For example: characterisation of wild bee populations, genotyping and sequencing of genomes and microbiomes, effective back-crossing programme.
  • Develop molecular bases and test new technologies for faster, more precise animal and plant breeding and for understanding metabolic pathways in model organisms. For example: development of markers and analysis of efficient, AI-based sequence data, genomic selection, genome editing and epigenetics.
  • Develop high-throughput processes for the precise measurement of phenotypic characteristics. For example: NIRS model, measurement of stress symptoms based on image data analysis.
  • Develop approaches to understanding and utilising plant-microbiome and animal-microbiome interactions. For example: resistance to fungal infections or methane formation in ruminants.
  • Develop methodology for variety testing which reflects new cultivation and processing requirements. For example: tolerance of new varieties to drought stress.
  • Develop automatable, highly efficient, conventional and molecular research methods and parameters to ensure the varietal identity, health, purity and viability of propagation material (incl. wild plants). Work with the sector to investigate factors which influence germination capacity during seed production. Develop, validate and approve new seed protection methods (for example, electron seed treatment).

Expected outcomes

Increased understanding of genotype-environment interactions and the use of modern selection and testing methods accelerates breeding progress for adapting to changing environmental conditions and new farming requirements. Ambitious breeding targets that combine good disease resistance, water and nutrient use efficiency with high quality and stable performance can thus be achieved in a faster, more targeted manner. The new breeding methods used to achieve these breeding targets have been evaluated and tested. As a result, with the aid of modern (variety) testing systems, new varieties and breed lines are made available to farmers more quickly and productivity is ensured. In addition, increased efficiency allows additional samples to be analysed or new species to be bred and made available to farmers at no extra cost. The basic knowledge should be obtained in collaboration with partners, e.g. the Swiss Plant Breeding Center or Swiss Genetics, thereby increasing the competitiveness of the Swiss breeding sector.

With regard to the supply of high-quality seed, new challenges relating to seed quality are identified in good time and seed quality analysis is faster, cheaper and more informative. A deeper understanding of seed quality in crops and wild plants is obtained using DNA-based methods and new data on the physiology of germination. Thanks to enforcement activities, sufficient high-quality seed and plant material is available and genetic resources are preserved and available for sustainable use.

Projects

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