ABSTRESS

Project overview

ABSTRESS applies combined, integrated systems biology and comparative genomics approaches to conduct a comprehensive study of the gene networks implicated in the interaction of drought stress and Fusarium infection in legumes using Medicago truncatula as a model for pea.

Project rationale:

Legume crops are essential for the future of European agriculture and our commitment to its improvement through a systems biology approach to plant breeding. The combined application of comparative genomics and systems biology will deliver a rapid breeding solution by identifying novel genes to the poorly studied Fusarium – drought interaction in legumes. ABSTRESS is used as an exemplar of how this technology may be used to solve the Fusarium-Drought problem in non-legume crops as well as providing a generic methodology for resolving multi-component crop breeding challenges (project website)

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Academic project partners:

Lead: Dr Adrian Charlton, The Food and Environment Research Agency, York, UK

• The University of Essex
• The University of Aberystwyth
• ISV-CNRS Gif sur Yvette, France
• INRA Dijon, France
• Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Cordoba, Spain