Old plants for New uses: a journey through selection, domestication and economics of crop species for more sustainable or resilient food systems
Program:
09:00-09:10 Welcome
09:10-9:35 Jorge de Queto - Crop Production and Biostimulation Laboratory, Interfaculty School of Bioengineers, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
African ancient cereals for the future
09:35-10:15 Petr Smykal - Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic petr.smykal@upol.cz | botany.upol.cz
Plant domestication and seed dormancy (in legumes)
10:15-10:45 Massimiliano Corso - Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB), 78000 Versailles, France
Uncovering the inducible seed specialized metabolome in wild and domesticated camelina species
10:45-11:15 Muriel Quinet - Groupe de Recherche en Physiologie végétale, Earth and Life Institute – Agronomy, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Could orphan crops or crop wild relatives help mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture?
11:15-11:45 Andrea Bellucci - Scientist at Raw Materials Department, Carlsberg Research Laboratories, Copenhagen, Denmark
Domestication of Intermediate Wheatgrass as “Perennial Wheat”.
11:45-12:15 Ive De Smet - VIB – UGENT Center for plant systems biology, Gent, Belgium
Genomes on Canvas: Artist's Perspective on Evolution of Plant-Based Foods.
Abstracts:
Dr Jorge Del Cueto - Crop Production and Biostimulation Laboratory, Interfaculty School of Bioengineers, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
African ancient cereals for the future
Cereals are the basis of civilization. Maize, wheat and rice are the most widely known around the world. On the African continent, there are other millenary cereals which are part of the diet, culture and idiosyncrasies of African peoples. In a context of increasingly pressing climate change, there is a need to adapt agriculture to more sustainable levels. As a result, traditional European crops are seeing their status falter. Here, alternative crops are emerging from the South, usually more resilient to drought and lack of nutrients, more disease resistant and in some cases gluten-free. Multiple questions appear on the scene: Can these cereals replace the traditional ones? How can they be improved? What are the limitations of introducing these cereals in Europe?
Prof. Petr Smýkal, Ph.D. - Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic petr.smykal@upol.cz | botany.upol.cz
Plant domestication and seed dormancy (in legumes)
The origin of agriculture was one of key points in human history, and a central part of this was the evolution of new plant forms, domesticated crops. The transformation of wild plants into crop plants can be viewed as an accelerated evolution, the result of human and natural selection. These processes led to the so-called domestication syndrome, including changes in plant structure, plant defence and palatability. Notably, loss of seed pigmentation has been selected during domestication. There is no clear picture if this is accidental, the result of direct selection due to presence of anti-nutritional compounds affecting digestion, the palatability of the seeds, or the result of cultural behaviour favouring white colour as a symbol of purity. There are two traits considered crucial: reduced dispersal ability and eliminated seed dormancy. We have used an integrated view combining comparative anatomy, metabolomics, genetic mapping and transcriptome profiling of wild progenitor and respective crop in order to identify genes associated with loss of seed dormancy in pea. Furthermore, wild progenitors offer the possibility to exploit and broaden the genetic diversity of the crop. In the talk, I will discuss these findings in the context of various independently domesticated legume crops.
Dr. Massimiliano Corso - Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB), 78000 Versailles, France
Uncovering the inducible seed specialized metabolome in wild and domesticated camelina species
Specialized metabolites (SMs) contribute to seed interactions with its environments and impact their agronomic quality. Thanks to their antioxidant and antipathogenic properties, accumulation of many phenylpropanoids SMs have been associated with stress resistance in seeds and contribute to seed interactions with its environment(s). SMs are widely accumulated in seeds of Brassicaceae such as camelina (Camelina sativa L.). Camelina sativa is a Brassicaceae that is used for research purpose or cultivated for human/animal nutrition and industrial uses (high level of ω3 fatty acids). Nevertheless, few information were available about camelina seed co-products, including diversity and environmental plasticity of SMs such as flavonoids and glucosinolates. Cultivation of camelina and other Brassicaceae crops is accompanied by increase concerns regarding plant health for abiotic and biotic stress factors.In this context, my team is studying the diversity and impact of the environmental stresses on SMs accumulation in Camelina ssp.In a first work, we analysed SMs profiles of six camelina genotypes grown in the field and harvested over five consecutive years (Boutet, Barreda et al., 2022, doi:10.1111/tpj.15662). Untargeted metabolomic analyses highlighted that many phenylpropanoids, including cinnamic acids and flavonols, showed a strong environmentally-induced plasticity, which was higher with respect to most of the primary metabolites, including fatty acids, proteins and lipids. We highlighted major effects of the environment on the stimulation of the seed specialized metabolome suggesting that seeds show a very dynamic and inducible metabolism.In a second work, we aim at gaining a deeper knowledge on the impact of biotic stresses on seed SM accumulation in camelina. An in-depth investigation of available chemical and transcriptional diversity in domesticated and wild camelina species was performed. The analyses allowed the identification of a large number of decorated cinnamic acids that might play a role in seed-pathogen interaction and that are being validated for their function as biocontrol agents. Characterizing seed SM pathways regulated by stresses will help the development of crops better adapted to the environment and the identification of new agro-ecological solutions with potential biocontrol applications.
Prof. Ive De Smet - VIB – UGENT Center for plant systems biology
Genomes on Canvas: Artist's Perspective on Evolution of Plant-Based Foods.
Our fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops stem from a wild ancestor and have undergone major changes through millennia of domestication and selection. There are various ways to reveal plant diversity over time, and one of these is through the combination of art history and genetics (also known as #ArtGenetics). I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using historical paintings to map the history of modern fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. I will then illustrate this approach through a number of examples, including carrots, wheat, watermelons and strawberries. I will also add stories of ambitious kings and cunning spies, overseas adventures, and (religious) symbolism.
Prof. Muriel Quinet - Groupe de Recherche en Physiologie végétale, Earth and Life Institute – Agronomy, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Could orphan crops or crop wild relatives help mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture?
In the context of climate change, an increase in temperature and a decrease in rainfalls are expected. These environmental modifications will have an impact on crops as a consequence of multi-component stress. Broadening our food sources through the integration of neglected crops, such as pseudocereals, will help to mitigate the effects of environmental change and improve qualitative food security. Regarding pseudocereals, we investigate the impacts of heat and drought on buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum and Fagopyrum tataricum) and the impact of salinity on amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus). These plants have received renewed interest due to their nutritional and medicinal benefices but the physiological basis of resistance mechanisms to abiotic constraints remain largely unknown in these species. Another strategy to improve crop resistance to abiotic stress is the use of wild crop relatives as a source of resistant genes. Among the tomato clade, Solanum chilense is considered as one of the most promising sources of genes for tomato selection due to its high level of genetic variability and its resistance to harsh environment. We compared the salt, drought and heat resistance of the cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and Solanum chilense and investigated the inter-specific reproductive barriers in order to produce hybrids between the two species.
Dr. Andrea Bellucci - Carlsberg Research Laboratory, Copenhagen, Denmark
Domestication of Intermediate Wheatgrass as “Perennial Wheat”.
The main challenge for agriculture is to increase production to sustain human population growth (9 billions in 2050) while reducing resources needed and environmental pollution. Perennial crops are an opportunity to develop a more sustainable crop system and recent reports of successful perennial rice trials support this thesis. In this framework, Intermediate Wheatgrass (IWG) represent a strong candidate as “perennial wheat”. Similar genome size and homology, growth area and seed composition are strong favorable traits. However, IWG still holds several traits requiring domestication like plant height and seed shattering. At Carlsberg Research Lab the Crop for the Future team focus on introducing known domestication alleles from wheat and barley into IWG trough mutagenesis, using the FIND-IT Additionally, efforts are made to provide tools for breeding IWG (e.g.: double haploid and speed breeding). The presentation will focus on this aspects and future challenges.