DEVELOPMENT FOR FOOD SECURITY · 21 First Dissemina9on Event 22 Second Dissemina9on Event 26 Sec3on 4: Coordina3on of Ac3vi3es ... COORDINATION of ACTIVITIES. Ac9vi9es are coordinated

!Net4FS-ProjectInforma3onBrochure

1www.cpib.ac.uk/net4fs Fundedbythe

PROJECTINFORMATIONBROCHURE

ANINTERDISCIPLINARYTRAININGNETWORKTO

ADDRESSKEYQUESTIONSINPLANTDEVELOPMENTFORFOODSECURITY


CONTACTSANDPARTNERINFORMATION

Net4FS is an European fundedproject for collabora9onbetween theUniversity ofNo=nghamUK,ShanghaiJiaoTongUniversityChinaandCIRADFrance.Theyareworkingtogethertofaceoneoftheworld’smajorchallenges:toprovidehighqualityfoodforanincreasingworldpopula9on.

ThisdocumenthasbeenproducedwiththefinancialassistanceoftheEuropeanUnion.Address:RuedelaLoi41B-1049BrusselsTelephonenumber:+3222991111Website:hXp://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm

UNIVERSITYOFNOTTINGHAM SHANGHAIJIAOTONGUNIVERSITY CIRAD

Address:SchoolofBiosciencesUniversityofNo=nghamSuXonBoningtonCampusLoughboroughLeicestershire,LE125RDUK

Address:SchoolofLifeSciencesandBiotechnologyShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity800DongchuanRoad,Shanghai200240China

Address:CIRADDepartmentBiosBoulevarddelaLirondeTAADIR/PS334398MontpellierCedex5France

t:+441159516331f:+441159516334w:www.no=ngham.ac.uk

t:+862134205073f:+862134204869w:hXp://en.sjtu.edu.cn

t:+33153702045f:+33153702034w:www.cirad.fr

ProjectCoordinator:Prof.ZoeWilson:zoe.wilson@no=ngham.ac.ukResearchAdministrator:MiriamColombi:miriam.colombi@no=ngham.ac.uk

ProjectSupervisor:Prof.DabingZhang:[email protected]:Prof.ZhengYuang:[email protected]

ProjectCoordinator:Dr.ChristophePerin:[email protected]

!! !

2


CONTENTS

4 Introduc3on

7 Sec3on1:Mobility

8 Mobilityintroduc9on:selec9on,evalua9on,addi9onalsupport

9 Mobilityareasandcoordinators

15 WhatislifelikeinShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity

17 Sec3on2:NetworkMee3ngs

18 Networkmee9ngsoccurredduringthefirsttwoyearsoftheproject

19 Sec3on3:Dissemina3onEvents

21 FirstDissemina9onEvent

22 SecondDissemina9onEvent

26 Sec3on4:Coordina3onofAc3vi3es

27 Communica9onTools

29 ComingAc9vi9es

30 Outcomes

3


INTRODUCTION

PROVIDINGSUFFICIENTHIGHQUALITYFOODFORANINCREASINGWORLDPOPULATIONISAMAJORGLOBALPROBLEM.

Theworld is facingmajorchallenges tomeetthe long-term needs for food security. Thisreflects on-going global increases inpopula9onsize,whichhavees9matedaneedfor 50% more food by 2050, however thereareaddi9onalfactorsimpac9nguponthis.

Theseinclude:

• decreasesinlandforagriculture;

• increased consumer demand for livestockproducts (meat and dairy), par9cularlythosefedongrain;

• increasingincomesinthedevelopingworldresul9nginhigherresourceconsump9on;

• growingdemandsforbiofuels;

• increasingscarcityofwater.

Agriculture and food produc9on is vital toindustry (biotechnologist; breeders; farmers),consumersandgovernments.This isnotonlyrelevantforhumanitarianissues,butisalsoofincreasing importance for poli9cians andpolicy makers. Lack of food is a strongmo9va9onal force fordiscontent, resul9ng indisturbances and unrest, leading toworldwidepoli9calinstability.

Thesechallengesaresetagainst:

• thebackdropof adverse effects of climatechangeonyield;

• theslowingofagriculturalproduc9vity;

• the need for sustainable agriculture withlowenvironmentalimpact.

Thereisnoeasysolu9ontotheseproblems.

A concerted effort towards increasing yield,enhancing food quality, whilst avoidingenvironmental damage and other losses isvital. However these traits are complex withmanyfactorsinfluencingyieldandquality.

These challenges will be best addressed byinterdisciplinary approaches integra9ngscien9ficdisciplines.

It is impera9vetoavoidresearchduplica9on,to ensure effec9ve integra9on of researchtechnologies,skillsandexper9setoovercomethesechallenges.

Ourprojectgoalistotrainanewgenera3onof interdisciplinary agriculture leaders, withInterna3onal experience that are able toaddressthesechallenges.

4

WHATISTHEMAINGOALOFTHEPROJECT?


• Collabora3ve projects will generate

outcomes to aid sustainable increasedagricultural produc9vity and global foodsecurity. This collabora9on is based uponconcrete,well-establishedlinksthatwillbeextended by the mobility programme,enablingnovelresearchareastodevelop.Itwillalsoavoidduplica9onandenablerapidscien9fic advances to address thechallenges of increasing agriculturalproduc9vity.

• Engagement between European publicand private sector stakeholders and linksbetween universi9es and agricultural,breeding and biotech companies in Chinaand Europe. These links will facilitate

effec9vedeploymentof researchadvancesto help alleviate poverty by intensifyingfood produc9on, whilst minimisingenvironmentalimpact.

• Increased European researchers workingand interac3ng with China and training anewgenera9onofagriculture leaderswiththeskillstoaddressthebiologicalissuesofglobalfoodsecurity.

Thisprojectwillengendernetworking,jointresearchprogrammesandagreaterunderstandingofworkingprac9cesinChinaandinEurope.

THEMAINGROUPSOFBENEFICIARIESARE:ACADEMIA,INDUSTRYINCLUDINGFARMERSANDPOLICYMAKERSANDCITIZENS.

5

WHATARETHEEXPECTEDRESULTS?


6

WHATARETHEMAINACTIONSOFTHEPROJECT?

1.ProgrammeofMOBILITY(researchersandpostgraduatedoctoralstudents).

Mobilityinvolvesallthreepartneringins9tu9onswithindifferentmobilityareas.Student mobility is delivered as variable visit dura9on (3-24 months) with aminimumof4visitsperyearperins9tu9on.Candidateselec9onformobilityisbased upon individual applica9ons made by the researcher/postgraduatedoctoralstudents.ApplicantswillbefromresearcherswithinUoNorCIRAD,orfromtheirassociatedins9tu9ons.

2.NETWORKMEETINGS(PIsandCo-Iins3tu3onsandindustry).

Network mee9ngs are held between research directors and keygroup leaderswithineachof themobilityareastoexpandareasofinterac9onandcollabora9on.Duringthesevisitsaddi9onalmee9ngswith local Industry, Non-Governmental Organisa9ons (NGOs) andSeniorRepresenta9vesoftherelevantIns9tu9oncanoccur.

3.DISSEMINATIONEVENTSandknowledgeexchange.

Dissemina9oneventsandknowledgeexchangeoccurinEuropeandChina.Thepurpose of these events is to feedback progress on the on-going mobilityprojects,butalsotoprovideanin9mateforumfordiscussionofjointresearch,and facilitate the development of new ideas and ini9a9ves for the on-goingprogramme, and ensure long-term sustainability via the development of newresearchproposals.

4.COORDINATIONofACTIVITIES.

Ac9vi9es are coordinated to maximise impact and value,encouraging integra9on between subject areas and noveltechnologies.


7

1. MOBILITY


The mobility involves European researchers and postgraduate doctoral students and it isdeliveredasvariablevisitdura9on(3-24months).Mobility researchersare frombothUoNandCIRADorfromtheirassociatedins9tu9ons.Visitdura9onand9mingaredrivenbytheresearchpriori9esandindustrialplacements,tomaximisecollabora9onsandprojectresearchoutput.

Candidate selec9on for mobility will be basedupon individual applica9ons made by theresearcherorpostgraduatedoctoralstudents.

The programme is internally evaluated on ayearly basis, to iden9fy best prac9ce anddetermine poten9al limita9ons and anyimplementa9on problems. Al l mobil ityresearchers students prepare brief bullet-pointmonthly reports tomonitor their progress andensure that the aims of the mobility are metwithin the 9mescales. The mobili9es are alsoevaluatedona6monthlybasis,orattheendofthemobility.Theseevalua9onsaresubsequentlyassessedbytheProjectSteeringGroup.

Addi9onal support, in terms of language andcultural integra9on are provided from theUoNShanghai office, in combina9on with the UoNChina Campus at Ningbo. Prepara9on formobility also commences prior to arrival inChina by using the resources of the UoNInterna9onal Office and also the UoN ChineseStudies Centre, to provide induc9on sessionsandalsoaddi9onallanguagesupport.

8

SELECTION

EVALUATION

ADDITIONALSUPPORT


The mobility ac9vity occurswithin4subjectthemesthatcomprise key aspects ofplant development, thatdirectly impact upon cropyield and agriculture, andthus Global Food Security.Researcher and studentmobil ity mainly occurswithin each of these areas.Specific projects that relateto these areas are currentlyon-going at the PartnerIns9tu9ons. THE MOBILITY

ENSURESTRANSFEROFEXPERTISEANDTECHNICALRESOURCESENABLINGTHESEPROJECTSTOBEEXTENDEDTONEWAPPLICATIONSANDFUTURECOLLABORATIVEPROGRAMMES.

MOBILITYAREASANDCOORDINATORS

MA1-ROOTARCHITECTUREANDWATER/NUTRIENTUSEEFFICIENCY

MA2-CANOPYARCHITECTUREANDIMPROVEMENTOFPHOTOSYNTHETICEFFICIENCY

UoN–MalcolmBenneXCIRAD–ChristophePerin,AnneDievartSJTU–DabingZhang,WanqiLiang

UoN–ErikMurchie,TonyPridmoreCIRAD–FabriceVaroquaux

MA3-MALEREPRODUCTIONANDCROPFERTILITY

MA4-MODIFICATIONOFPLANTCELLWALLS,INCLUDINGFRUITRIPENINGORGANABSCISSIONANDDEHISCENCE

UoN–ZoeWilsonSJTU–DabingZhang,WanqiLiang,ZhengYuan

UoN–JeremyRoberts,GrahamSeymourCIRAD–FabriceVaroquaux

9


P lant se lec9on st rateg ies for c ropdevelopmentoverthepasthundredsofyearshave focused principally upon selec9ng forincreased yield and above ground traits.However,improvedwaterandnutrientuptakeefficiency are cri9cal for effec9ve plantgrowth, plant nutri9on and defence, andtherefore increased yield. Root architecturecri9callyinfluencesnutrientandwateruptakeefficiency, par9cularly under adversecondi9ons associated with climate changesuch as limited water availability (Lynch andBrown,2012).

Un9l recently, understanding how rootsrespond to these abio9c stresses has beenchal lenging. However, non-invasivelyvisualising roots in soil is now possiblefollowing recent advances in imagingapproaches,suchasmicroCTatUoN(Mooneyet al., 2012). The recently establishedHounsfield Faci l i ty (UoN) houses an

automated root phenotyping platormcontaining 3 CT instruments. This uniquefacility has the capability of spanningresolu9onscales frommicrons tomillimetrest o a n a l y s e r o o t a r c h i t e c t u r e a n ddevelopment. This enables analysis of wholerootsandroot interac9onsofmul9pleplantsgrown in soil (in soil cores of up to 15cmdiameter x 1.5m depth), down to high-resolu9on root hair imaging. This technologycan be used to determine the effects ofnatural varia9on and also single genemuta9ons.

UoN researchers are pioneering efforts todevelop new understanding of how keyregulatory genes and signals control rootresponsestowateravailability.Thisincludesanove l adap9ve mechan i sm te rmed‘hydropaXerning’ that determineswhere, forexample, lateralrootsdevelop inresponsetodistribu9onofsoilmoisture(Baoetal.,2014).Such research is uncovering novel insightsabout how root abio9c stress responses aremediated, which will underpin efforts tobreed more resilient crops. This is occurringagainstabackgroundofvisualisingmolecularand hormonal changes in roots usingdynamic, cell-specific sensors that areenabling detec9on of signals like auxin thatregulate root angle and lateral rootdeve lopment . These data a re thenincorporated into molecular models byassocia9on with mathema9cians, computerscien9sts and engineers, to determine the

10

MA1-ROOTARCHITECTUREANDWATER/NUTRIENTUSEEFFICIENCY


factors governing root func9on and growth.This work is performed at the Centre forIntegra9ve Biology (CPIB), UoN, which overthe past 7 years has generated over 100papers in high impact journals that includeNature, Science and PNAS; trained over 200PhDandPostdoclevelresearchersatSummerSchools in systems biology approaches; andaXracted over a dozen pres9gious fellowshipawards from ERC, EU, Royal Society andBBSRC.

Theneed for a step change in cereal yield isfrustrated by the fact that some key yieldcomponentsarenearop9misa9on.Any largeincrease inyieldmustbesupportedbyariseinbiomassproduc9vitythat inturndemandsan increased rate of photosynthesis per unitgroundarea.

Here there are a large number of traits andprocesses to iden9fy. However it is knownthat photosynthesis per unit leaf area mustincreaseandthismust‘translate’successfullyintoanimprovedcanopylevelphotosynthe9crate. Thishas led to interest in improvementof key limi9ng components such as Rubisco.However one area that requires aXen9on istheintegra9onofleaveswithinthecanopyasawhole.

Reconstruc<onresultsforrealriceandwheatplants,capturedusingasinglefreecamera,andanar<ficialplantwithbroaderleaves,capturedusingafixedcameraandturntable

installa<on.

Photosynthesis at the canopy level typicallyconsists of a large popula9on of leaves indifferent light-saturated states: simplis9cally,the leaves at the top of the canopy in a C3crop, experience levels of radia9on thatexceedthecapacityforphotosynthesis,whilstthose lowerdownare light limited.However,light within the canopy is considerablymorecomplexthanthis,withfluctua9onsoccurringaccording to architecture, solar posi9on andcanopy movement. This means that leavesmay experience both light limited and lightsatura9ng condi9ons during the course of asingleday.

Sub-op9mal dynamic responses to light canresult ina loweringofcanopycarbongainbyup to30% (Zhuetal.,2004).TheSchoolsofBiosciences and Computer Science havedeveloped techniques for high-resolu9on 3Dimagingofplantcanopiesandlinkedtheseto

11

MA2-CANOPYARCHITECTUREANDIMPROVEMENTOFPHOTOSYNTHETICEFFICIENCY


mathema9cal models of photosynthesis. Incombina9on with high throughput screeningof leaf photosynthesis parameters, thesetechniquescanbeusedtopredicttheop9maldistribu9onofdynamicproper9eswithin thecereal canopy. These can then be used todetermine whether the distribu9on ofphotosynthesisisop9misedandtoscreenforop9maldistribu9on.

Popula9onsofbothwheatandricewithgene9callyalteredlevelsofphotosynthesiscanbeusedtotestthehypothesisthatthedistribu9onofac9vityofphotosynthe9candphotoprotec9veprocesseswillleadtohigherbiomass.

Controlofpollenviability,orreleaseoffunc9onalpollen,isvitalfor:

• cropfer9lisa9on;

• seedproduc9on;

• foodanimal;

• humanconsump9on;

• breedingprogrammes;

• hybridproduc9on.

Hybridcropstendtohave‘hybridvigour’or‘heterosis’andfrequentlyout-yieldequivalentselfedlinesbyupto30%.Thiscanmakeasignificantdifferencetothepoten9alcropyieldforthesameareaofcul9va9on.

Forexample,inChinatheincreasedgraingeneratedfromhybridricecanfeed60millionpeople/annum(Chengetal.,2007).In2003,177milliontonsofhybridricewasgrowninChina,howeverithasbeenes9matedtheywillneed240milliontonsby2030.Selec9vebreeding,combinedwiththeuseofhybridlines,hasthepoten9altorealisethesegoals.

RecentlytherehavebeenreportsofHystarhybridwheat(Syngenta)withyieldincreasesof—0.5t/haandhybridbarley(Syngenta)with>10%increasedyield.However,theslowdevelopmentofhybridtemperatecerealsreflectstheboXleneckinavailabilityofgermplasmandalackofmolecularunderstandingofcerealreproduc9onandtraitscontrollingmalefer9lity.

Ricepersistenttapetalcell1mutantshowingabnormalanthersandlackofseeddevelopment(Li

etal.,2011)

The difficul9es associated with hybridproduc9onarethatself-fer9lisa9onhastobeprevented, either by removing func9onalpollen, or by preven9ng its release, followedby crossing and subsequently fer9lity rescue.Current approaches either involve manualemascula9on, which for some crops is not

12

MA3-MALEREPRODUCTIONANDCROPFERTILITY


feasible, chemical gametocides which havehigh environmental impact (Cheng et al.,2007), or reliance on a very limited gene9cresources.

The hybrid system currently used in Chineserice, is based on a single Cytoplasmic-basedtrait (Cytoplasmic Male Sterility (CMS))meaning that the level of gene9c diversity isextremely low. Providing alterna9ve systemsfor regula9ng fer9lity in a diverse range ofcrops is a key challenge for breeders,biotechnologists and researchers. Having agreater understanding of the mechanismsinvolved in pollen development will provideopportuni9es to enable the regula9on ofpollen fer9lity and therefore hybridproduc9on,andalsoselec9vebreeding.

Anaddi9onal factorof increasing importanceforplant reproduc9on is theeffectof abio9cstresses on the viability of pollen. Pollendevelopment is extremely suscep9ble toextremes of temperature, with minortemperature changes having a significanteffect at key stages. Climate change andvariable weather paXerns are impac9ng oncurrent cereal yield and this is likely toincrease in the future. The effect oftemperaturestressonpollenviabilityposesaserious threat to current and long-term cropyield.Itisthereforeimportanttogenerateanunderstanding of the effect of temperaturestressonpollendevelopmentandtodevelopgene9c resources with tolerance to alteredenvironmentalstress.

Thetranscrip<onfactorEAT1controlspollendevelopment(Liatal.,2011),whenmutateditresultsinmalesterileplants(e).ItcontrolsnormalProgrammedCellDeath(PCD)intheanther(b,f&c,g)(fluorescenceinc).It

controlsPCDbyac<va<ngproteasesthatcanalsoinduceectopiccelldeathintobacco

leaves(e&i).

Over the past 10 years UoN and SJTU havehad an on-going successful collabora9on inthis area that has resulted in researcherexchange, high-impact joint publica9ons, forexample Nature Communica9ons, Plant Cell,Symposiaandtrainingworkshops.

The structure and composi9on of plant cellwalls are cri9cal for many aspects of plantdevelopment and effec9ve use of crops.Remodelling of cell walls affect organshedding, anther and pod dehiscence, seedabscission, and fruit ripening. They can alsoadversely affect produce in terms of

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MA4-MODIFICATIONOFPLANTCELLWALLS,INCLUDINGFRUITRIPENINGORGANABSCISSIONANDDEHISCENCE


senescence and post-harvest deteriora9on.Greater understanding, combined with theability to manipulate these processes willprovided opportuni9es for yield increases, adecrease in harvest and post-harvest lossesand enhanced product quality and nutrientavailability.

Research in this area includes abscission ofplant organs, minimising crop losses due topremature pod shaXer in Brassica, also bymodifying the fruit ripening process, forexample (Flavr Saver Tomato), which canreduce spoilage but also can be used tominimise water use in produc9on andprocessing.Recentworkhasshownthatby

manipula9ng auxin levels specifically at thesite of abscission it is possible to aXenuate

the9mingoffloralorganshedding(Basuetal.2013).

UoN (Prof. Seymour) has been ac9velyinvolved in the Tomato Genome project(2012) and is currently applying knowledgefromthistotheripeningandimprovementoffleshyfruits.

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15

WHATISLIFELIKEINSHANGHAIJIAOTONGUNIVERSITY?FeedbackfromresearchersinmobilityinChina

AnneDievartisaresearcherfromCIRAD.SheislivinginShanghaiJiaoTongUniversitytogetherwithherfamily for two years. Her mobility period started in September 2015. Her research projects focus onreceptorkinases, inanimalduringherPhD (UniversitédeMontréal,Canada,withPaul Jolicoeur (IRCM)),andinplants:Arabidopsis(UniversityofMichigan,AnnArbor,USA,withStevenE.ClarkandJianmingLi)andrice(CIRAD,Montpellier,FrancewithEmmanuelGuiderdoniandChristophePérin).AsaResearchAssociateatCIRADsinceJune2011,shepursuesherworkonLeucine-RichRepeatReceptor-LikeKinases(LRR-RLKs).

BeforeleavingfortwoyearsshespentfewdaysinShanghai.

Shesaid:“IwasaliRlebitanxiousaboutmyfirstvisitinChina,aboutthelanguage,theculture, etc. I spent 2 days in Shanghai, where I have been really impressed by thehospitalityofourhosts,theirkindnessand,ofcourse,thequalityofscience.Ithasbeenawonderfulvisitandexperience.Iamnowkeentogothereforalongperiodof<metoworkinthelab.”

Ruth Dennis is a third year BBSRC funded PhD student in Professor Zoe Wilson’s lab. She isstudyingthemechanismofantheropeninginArabidopsisthalianaandherresearchfocusesonhowbothpassiveandac9veprocessescontributetothemovementofwateroutofanther9ssues,duringthefinalstagesofpollenrelease.AsaBBSRC(DoctoralTrainingPartnership)studentsheneedstoundertakeathreemonthprofessional internship,whichshespent inChinaworkingwithShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity(SJTU)topromotetheNet4FSprojectandstrengthen linksbetweenSJTUandtheUniversityofNo=ngham.

She said: “I had an amazing <me working with members of Professor DabingZhang’slabandwasmadetofeelverywelcome.IreallyenjoyedfiXngintocampuslife at SJTU and I thoroughly enjoyed my work promo<ng the 2+2 program tostudents andhelping to organise the secondNet4FSdissemina<onevent. ItwasabrilliantexperienceandIfeelthatIgainedalot,bothpersonallyandprofessionally.”

ShanghaiJiaoTongUniversityCampus


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2. NETWORK MEETINGS


The knowledge exchange is taking placethrough mobility of the students but alsothroughnetworkmee9ngsanddissemina9onevents. The network mee3ngs enableeffec3ve deployment of results from theprojects, high-level engagement with theprogramme and develop a conduit forknowledge exchange. They also generateimpact on Na3onal and Interna3onalAgriculturalPolicies.

Mee9ngs are held between ResearchDirectorsandkeyGroupLeaderswithineachof the Mobility Areas to expand areas ofinterac9on and collabora9on. It is envisaged

that these events occur in both China andEurope.

During these visits addi9onal mee9ngs withl o c a l i n d u s t r y, Non -Gove r nmen ta lO r g a n i s a 9 o n s ( NGO s ) a n d S e n i o rRepresenta9ves of the relevant ins9tu9onoccur.

The network mee9ngs are an extremelyusefulopportunitytocreatebridgesbetweenpeople and to strengthen rela9onships.Visi9ng other ins9tu9ons is a crucial step toincreasetheknowledgeandtoshareresults.

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NETWORKMEETINGSOCCURREDDURINGTHEFIRSTTWOYEARSOFTHEPROJECT.

WHEN WHERE WHONovember2015 CIRAD-France Researchers,Academia.

Prof.ZoeWilson(UoN),MiriamColombi(UoN),Dr.ChristophePerin(CIRAD),Dr.AnneDievart(CIRAD),NadegePicard(CIRAD),M'barekBouazaoui(CIRAD)

November2015 SJTU-China Researchers,Academia.Prof.RupertFray(UoN),ProfDabingZhang(SJTU),Prof.FeiyangXue(SJTU),Dr.JianxinShi(SJTU),Dr.JieXu(SJTU).

January2016 SJTU-China Researchers,Academia,Industry,EUdelegates.Prof.DabingZhang(SJTU),ZoeWilson(UoN),HonghuiSeedLtdCo,ProfRongfengHuang(CAAS),ProfBinHan(SIPPE),ProfRudd(UoNNingboCampus),ProfJinXiaoming(MOST).

July2106 SJTU-China Researchers,Academia.Prof.DabingZhang(SJTU),ZoeWilson(UoN),Dr.FrancescaGalbia9.(UoN),ProfRengfengHuang(CAAS),DrTaoChen(CAAS),MsJuanWang(CAAS),Prof.ShuqingZHAO(ShanxiUniversity),MrWenzheYin(SJTU)andProfPengQin'sgroup(SAU).

September2016 CIRAD-France Researchers,Academia.Prof.DabingZhang(SJTU),Prof.ZoeWilson(UoN),Dr.ChristophePerin(CIRAD),Dr.AnneDievart(CIRAD)

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19

3. DISSEMINATION EVENTS


Dissemina9on of informa9on and addi9onalindustryengagementareachievedviaannualknowledgeexchangeeventsthatcapitaliseonthe partner’s networks in China and the EU,and industrial links. These events occur inEuropeandChina.

• ThefirstwasheldinUK(2015)• ThesecondwasheldinChina(2016)• ThethirdwillbeheldinFrance(2017)• ThefourthwillbeheldinChina(2018)

The European events are smaller targetednetworking events involving researchers,academic group leaders and associatedpar9es. The purpose of these is to feedbackprogress on the on-going mobility projects,but also to provide an in9mate forum for

discussiontojointresearch,andfacilitatethedevelopment of new ideas and ini9a9ves forthe on-going programme, and ensure long-term sustainability via the development ofnewresearchproposals.

The Chinese events are larger events. Thesesymposia are opened up to researchers inacademic ins9tu9ons and industry acrossChina. These provide a platorm forknowledgeexchangeandnetworking.

At these events, industry and policy makersare also encouraged to par9cipatewith talksfocussed on the issues that they are facingandthemechanismsforaddressingthese.

20


FIRSTDISSEMINATIONEVENT

(UniversityofNoingham-December2015)

TheFirstDissemina9onEventwasheldinUniversityofNo=ngham,SuXon Bonington Campus, on7th-10th December 2015. PhDstudents , researchers andacademics from No=ngham,Shanghai Jiao Tong University,C h i n a , a n d f r o m C I R A DIns9tu9on, France, aXended theevent. Representa9ves from theworld of the industry gave somepresenta9ons.

On the 7th of December Prof.William Davies from LancasterUniversityopenedthemee9ngwithatalkonscience that can result in more carboncapture, more effec9ve par99oning ofresources and enhanced water and nutrientproduc9vity.

Onthe8thandthe9thofDecemberfourmaintopics were discussed, s9mula9ng ques9onsanddiscussions.Talksaboutrootarchitectureand water/nutrient use efficiency as well ascanopy architecture and improvement ofphotosynthe9c efficiency have been given.Male reproduc9on and crop fer9lity andmodifica9onofplantcellwallsweretheothertwotopicsthatwereconsidered.

The last day of the event, the 10th ofDecember, talks about interna9onal andindustrial engagement have been presented.Dr. Jacob Lage, a delegate of the breedingcompanyKWSUKLtd,gaveanoverviewaboutbreeding wheat for the future. There werealso talks given on The University ofNo=ngham’sResearchStrategyaswellastheknowledgeexchangebetweenUKandAsia.

During the event separated small break-outworkshopstookplace.Itwasanopportunityfortheexpertstoexploreindepth,togetherwi th the PhD students and youngresearchers,theirresearchandhave3mefordiscussions.

21

Dr.JacobLage,KWSUKLtd,duringtheNet4FSFirstDissemina9onEvent


SECONDDISSEMINATIONEVENT

(ShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity-November2016)

T h e S e c o n dD i s s em i n a 9 o nEvent was held att h e A c a d em i cExchange Centerat Shanghai JiaoTongUniversity,ont h e 7 t h - 1 0 t hNovember2016.

Itwas aXendedbyPhD students and academics fromUniversityofNo=ngham,Shanghai JiaoTongUniversityand CIRAD research centre in France. Inaddi9on, guest speakers from a number ofdifferent Chinese research ins9tu9onsaXended such as Fudan University, SouthChina Agricultural University, ShanghaiIns9tute of Plant and Ecology, ShanghaiCenter for Plant Stress Biology, CAS-MPGPartner Ins9tute on Computa9onal Biology,Shanghai Normal University, The Ins9tute ofVegetables and Flowers, The ChineseAcademy of Agricultural Sciences, TheZealquest AgriPheno Co. Ltd. and TheWeizmann Ins9tute of Science, Israel.Representa9ves from industry (LimagrainAsia, Lallemand Plant Care and ZealquestAgriPhenoCo.Ltd)alsopar9cipated.

Onthe7thNovemberaresearchworkshoponCRISPRtechnologywasheld.Thesubsequentsessions were divided into specific topicareas. The morning and a~ernoon talksfocussed on Root Architecture and Abio9cStress.

On the8thNovember talksweredivided intothe topic areas of Male Reproduc9on andCropfer9lity,CropstoConsump9on,andCropBreeding and Applica9ons; the laXer sessioncomprised of presenta9ons from industryspeakers.

OnWednesday9thNovember,plenaryspeakerProfessor Jiankang Zhu (Shanghai Center forPlant Stress Biology) started the day with apresenta9onaboutDNAmethyla9onpaXernsand their importance in transgenera9onalinheritance. Subsequent sessions includedtalks on Metabolism and Photosynthe9cEfficiency, and Phenotyping and ImageAnalysis. The day ended with an Ethicsworkshop led by Dr. Kate Millar (UoN) andM’Barek Bouazaoui (CIRAD), which gavestudentsandacademicsthechancetoexplorethemeaningandimportanceofethicsintheirresearchac9vi9es.Afinaldiscussionwasheldto explore further opportuni9es forinterna9onaldevelopmentandfunding.

22


On the 10th December a field trip wasarranged to the nearby water town ofWuzhen. The Dissemina3on Event providedan excellent opportunity for academic

engagement and sharing of researchtechniquesandresources,thusachievingthetargetobjec9ves.

23

AXendeesattheNet4FSSecondDissemina9onEvent


24

Prof.YingxiangWang(FudanUniversity):“IthasbeenmygreatpleasuretobeinvitedtoaRendthiswonderfulNet4FSconference,whichwasheldatShanghaiJiaoTongUniversityduringthelastNov.7th–10th.BothProfs.WilsonandZhangwerethehosts.Themainthemeofthisconferencefocusedonkeyques<onsinplantdevelopmentforFoodSecurity,coveringdifferenttopicssuchasgenomeedi<ngtechniqueofCRISPRanditsapplica<on,rootplas<cityinadapta<ontoabio<cstresses,plantreproduc<vedevelopment,cropconsump<onandbreedingandothers.Theconferencewasgreat,Iwasdeeplyimpressedbyeachpar<cipantwhowasveryac<veduringthemee<ng.Ialsopresentedatalkandlearnedalotfromthegreatmee<ng,whichisabridgenotonlyonscien<ficinterac<on,butalsoonunderstandingculturedifferences.“

DrZhengYuan(SJTU):“IstudiedinNoXnghamUniversityasvisi<ngscholarsponsoredbytheRoyalSocietyFellowshiptenyearsago,andIvisitedNoXnghamseveral<messince2007.Therefore,it’sreallymygreatpleasuretoaRendtheNet4FSSecondDissemina<onEvent,whichwasheldinShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity(SJTU),Chinafromthe7thto10th,Nov,2016.Itwasagreatopportunitytoextendourcollabora<onnotonlyonreproduc<vedevelopmentresearch,butalsoondevelopingphenotypingsystemsforagronomictrait,amul<-disciplinecoopera<onamongChina,UKandFrance.Ireallyenjoyedalltheevents,wonderfulpresenta<onsanddiscussionsaboutplantfer<lity,itsapplica<oninbreeding,aswellasinterdisciplinaryworking,whichwillplayapivotalroleforsustainablecropbreedingandwillmeetthedemandfortheincreasingpopula<on.“

ThibaultMounier(PhdStudent–CIRAD):“Par<cipa<ngintheNet4FSSecondDissemina<onEventwasagreatfirstexperienceforafirstyearPhDstudentlikeme.Ihavemetnumerousresearcherswhicharestudyinginawiderangeofscien<ficfield,withoneglobalobjec<ve:increaseandinsurefoodsecurity.Thissymposiumopenedgreatdiscussionswhichcon<nuedun<llateatnight.“

Dr.ZinniaGonzalez-Carranza(UoN):“ThequalityofsciencepresentedduringtheNet4FSisates<monyofthelonghoursspentandthehardworkfromscien<stsbelongingtotheNetwork.TheSecondDissemina<onEvent,holdinShanghaiChinawasanexcellentopportunitytolearnwhichkeyques<onsandwhichbreakthroughtechnologiesgroupsintheUK,FranceandChinaareworkingandemployingrespec<velytosolvethepressingissueofFoodSecurity.Theethicsworkshopwasaveryinteres<ngexperiencethatIwouldliketoseeexpandinginscien<ficmee<ngs.Itwasapleasuretomeetnewpeersandtogreetoldonesinthefascina<nglandofChina.”

FEEDBACKFROMTHEATTENDEESATTHEDISSEMINATIONEVENTS


25

DrLiangGong(SJTU):“Ipar<cipatedattheNet4FSSecondDissemina<onEventandIpresentedatechnologyremarkon“Cost-effec<veIntelligentPhenotyping”.Isharedmyresearchexperiencesondevelopingintelligentall-aroundphenotypingdevicesandequipmentsuchasportableseed-panicleanalyzer,prototypeofmobilefieldphenotypingrobotthathighlightsaprospec<vestudy.Ishowedthathigh-throughputphenotypingtechnologyisabletosystema<callyboostthenewcropvarietybreedingbyreducingmorethananorderofthe<meandcostascomparedwiththoseinaconven<onalmanner.Myevolvementembodiedacross-disciplinaryeffortonsecuringfoodsecurityviaengineeringandrevolu<onizingconven<onalbreedingtechniques.“

JingYang(PhDstudentSJTU):”TheNet4FSSecondDissemina<onEventhadapar<cularmeaningforme.Itisthefirstinterna<onalconferenceIaRendedasaPhDcandidatestudent.AlthoughatthisverymomentIcans<llrememberthenervousfeelingwhenIstoodinthefrontofspecialistsgivingmypresenta<onaboutauxin,Ihavetosaythemee<ngcontentandatmospherereallyamazedme.Themostimpressivethingisthateveryoneintheroomreallyenjoyedtheprocess,especiallythediscussionpartahereachsec<on.Fromthestudentspointofview,itlargelyenlargedourvisionsandincreasedourknowledge.NowIknowbeRerwhatandhowIcancontributeasanewgenera<onscien<st.Net4FSofferedusallanoutstandingcommunica<onopportunity,andIamgladIcouldaRendit.IwishNet4FSeverysuccessforthefuture!“

DrQingfengSong(TheCAS-MPGPartnerIns3tuteforComputa3onalBiology,ShanghaiIns3tutesforBiologicalSciences,ChineseAcademyofSciences):“IntheNet4FSSecondDissemina<onEvent,scien<stsfromUK,FranceandChinawithdifferentbackgroundgeXngtogetherinthebeau<fulShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity.Iwasinvitedtogiveatalkaboutcanopyphotosynthesismodeling,andIreallyenjoyedthediscussionsandtheexchangesofourknowledgeandskillsfromdifferentfields,suchasmolecularbiology,development,epigene<cs,canopyphotosynthesis,imagingprocessing,phenotypingandetc.Dr.ErikMurchie,fromUniversityofNoXngham,andIdidproposedseveralpoten<alcollabora<onprojects,whichwillmoveforwardourpreviousandcurrentcollabora<on.Ialsolikedthetrainingofscien<ficethics,whichisnotusuallyorganizedinChina.Thefood,coffeebreaksandbanquetwerealsoverygood!“

Dr.GuillerminaMendiondo(UoN):“TheNet4FSSecondDissemina9onEventhadseveralhigh-qualitytalksandallowedmetofindanddiscussopportuni9esforresearchcollabora9ons.TheeventbroughttogetherpeoplefromvariousResearchIns9tutesandUniversi9es,whichprovidedagoodenvironmentfornetworking.Ireallyenjoyedtheinterac9onwiththeotherconferencedelegates,andlearnedalotaboutthetechnologiesthatarecurrentlyemployedtoaddressthechallengeofprovidingtheworld'sgrowingpopula9onwithasustainable,stable,supplyoffood.”


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4. COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES


Ac3vi3es are coordinated to maximise theimpact and value, encouraging integra3onbe tween sub j e c t a rea s and nove ltechnologies.

Th i s i s conducted by the researchadministrator, who is involved in theorganisa9onof themobility, co-ordina9onofthe interac9ons of the researchers, groupleadersandadministra9vestaffinthepartnerins9tu9ons. This provide added value andensure that the collec9ve value of thep r o g r a mm e i s e n h a n c e d b y t h ecollabora9ons, ensuring increased impactcomparedtothatoftheindividualpartners.

Thevisibilityoftheac3onsisacrucialtaskforthe project and it involves differentc ommun i c a9on t o o l s s u c h a s t h edevelopment of an integrated website, theadver9sement of the project throughnewsleXer, conferences, event posters,leaflet, etc. A communica9on and visibilityplanisalsoavailable.

Planningthecomingeventsisalsopartofthecoordina9on of ac9vi9es. The future stepsareshowninthischapter.

WEBSITE

TheNet4FSwebsitewith all the informa9onregard ing Net4FS can be found atwww.cpib.ac.uk/net4fs.

General informa9on about the project suchasmission, partners,milestones and how toget involved, are described into the Aboutsec9onofthewebsite.

There is also a sec9on concerning themobility of the researchers/students. In thissec9on there is an overview about the fourmain mobility areas of the project, there isthe list of people who are in mobility andthereisapreviewofhowlifeinSJTUislikelytobe.

Thethirdmainsec9onregardstheknowledgeexchange. Summaries about networkmee9ngs and dissemina9on events togetherwith some pictures/videos are presented.This way it can be easier to follow theprogressesoftheprojectandtoknowwhatison,whenandwhere.

Thereare twomoreminor sec9ons includedinto the website: Documents and Contact.The first one gathers together all thedocuments that have produced within theproject(leaflets,papers,presenta9onsandsoon and so forth). The second one provides

27

COMMUNICATIONTOOLS


details on how themain contacts of Net4FScanbereached.

The website is an interac3ve and usefulsupport tool that can help people fromacademia/industry/government to know abit more about the project. It will beupdatedregularlyinordertoalwaysremainanimportantreferencefortheaudience.

PROMOTIONAL/INFORMATIONMATERIAL

Thepromo9onal and informa9onmaterial ispr inted and d istr ibuted among thestakeholdersduringpublicevents. Thisbuildawareness about the ac9vi9es andachievements of the project among targetaudiences and user groups and ensureeffec9vecommunica9onoftheresults.

NEWSLETTERS

The informa9on about the project and theadver9sement of the events, mee9ngs and

mobility are also included in severalnewsleXer.

POSTERS

The project is presented in student labmee9ngsandconferenceviaposters.

SOCIALMEDIA

Facebook,Wechat,TwiXer,etc.arealsobeingused to spread the word about the projectevents.

OTHER

Other communica9on tools inc ludephotographs, banners, events, face-to-facemee9ng and conference calls, emails, onlinemarketplaceforlivingexperienceplatorm.

All of these tools are fundamental to givevisibility to the project and they are themain core of the coordina3on of theac3vi3es.

28


Net4FSprojectwillendonFebruary2019andthereares9llplentyofac9vi9esthatareplannedbeforetheendoftheproject.

Researcher/PostgraduateDoctoralStudentmobilitywillbetheprincipalac9vityoftheprojectanditwillbedeliveredasvariablevisitdura9on(3-24months).ThereareseveralPhDstudentsthat expressed their interest in being part of the Net4FS mobility programme and newapplica9ons in the following months are expected. The discussions with the researchersdemonstratethehighlevelofinterestinthemobilityprogramme.

Networkmee3ngswilloccurbothinChina(SJTU)andinEurope(UoNandCIRAD)duringtheseremainingtwoyears.Thesevisitsareexpectedtobeof5-daydura9onandaddi9onalmee9ngswith local industry, non-governmental organisa9ons and senior representa9ves of the relevantins9tu9onwilloccur.

Two more Dissemina3onEvents will occur. The ThirdNet4FsDissemina9onEventwillbe held in CIRAD, France,between the 16th and the 18thof October 2017. The 9tle ofthe event will be NET4FS:WORKING TOGETHER FORF O O D S E C U R I T Y - A NINTERDISCIPLINARYAPPROACH.Academic Ins9tu9ons fromChina, France and UK areexpected to aXend the eventtogether with Industry. PolicyMakersarealsoencouragedtopar9cipatewithtalksfocused ontheissuesthattheyarefacingandthemechanismsforaddressingthese.

ThefourthNet4FSDissemina9onEventwillbeheldinSJTU,China,attheendof2018.

29

COMINGACTIVITIES


Mobility,networkmee9ngsanddissemina9oneventsrepresentagreatopportunitytostartnewcollabora9ons and link between ins9tu9ons. For this reason, different outcomes developedthankstotheNet4FSproject.

๏ As a result of discussions with Dr. Song and Professor Xinguang Zhu at the SecondDissemina9onEvent inShanghai inNovember2016,Dr.ErikMurchie(UoN)cowroteandsubmiXedagrantproposaltoBBSRCinJanuary2017whichinvolvestravelandknowledgeexchangebetweenSJTUandUoNins9tutesoverthenext4years;

๏ Dr.ErikMurchiediscussedaprojectwithDr.QinfengSonginShanghaiandtheyplantocowriteagrantproposaloncanopyarchitecture,photosynthesisacclima9onandnitrogenuseefficiency,laterthisyear.TheyviewedwholeplantphotosynthesischambersthathavebeenpioneeredinShanghaiandtheyplantodevelopco-fundingapplica9onstou9lisetheseinjointcollabora9veresearch;

๏ Net4FSallowedDr.RanjanSwaruptodeveloplinkswithSJTUChinaandCIRAD,Montpellier.With SJTU:Dr. Swarup is helping them to generate an9bodies aswell as theyhavebeendiscussingideasforcollabora9on.WithCIRAD:Dr.Swaruphavecollabora9velinksandtheyrecentlypublishedapaper togetheronDevelopmentalBiology.Net4FShas strengthenedhiscollabora9onandheishopingtodomorecollabora9veworktogether;

๏ Dr. Ian Fisk aXended the SecondDissemina9on Event in Shanghai lastNovember andhenowunderstandsmoreaboutthelocalneedsoftheagricultureandfoodindustry.HeaimstodeliveraflavourtrainingcourseinShanghaiinNovemberthisyear;

๏ Dr.IanFiskfurtheredlinkswithUnileverinChinaasaconsequenceofaXendingtheNet4FSmee9ng;

๏ Dr. IanFiskwas invitedtobeanexternalprofessoratShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity.Theyarewai9ngforthepaperworktobeprocessed;

๏ Profs Pridmore and Wilson submiXed a joint proposal to the Newton Fund: China-UKResearch and Innova9on Bridges compe99on. “AutoPheno" - A Sino-UK technologyplatorm for image-based plant phenotyping for crop breeding and agriculturalintensifica9on”.ThisinvolvedUniversityandIndustryinvolvementinUKandChina;

๏ The following paper which is as a consequence of SJTU-UoN interac9ons has beensubmiXed: “Rice ac<n binding protein RMD controls crown root angle in response to

30

OUTCOMES


external phosphate” Guoqiang Huang1, Wanqi Liang1,2, Craig J. Sturrock2 , StefanMairhofer2,BipinK.Pandey2,3,LukasMuller2,JingYang1,2,LarryM.York2,YuSong1,DaoyangWang1,HexinTan4,Yu-JinKim1,JitenderGiri2,3,YangQiao5,JianXu6,MalcolmJ.BenneX2&DabingZhang1,7.

1 Joint Interna9onal Research Laboratory ofMetabolic&Developmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory ofHybridRice,SJTU-UniversityofAdelaideJointCentreforAgricultureandHealth,SchoolofLifeSciencesandBiotechnology,

ShanghaiJiaoTongUniversity,Shanghai,China.2CentreforPlantIntegra9veBiology,SchoolofBiosciences,UniversityofNo=ngham,UK.3Na9onalIns9tuteofPlantGenomeResearch(NIPGR),NewDelhi110067,India.4DepartmentofPharmaceu9calBotany,SchoolofPharmacy,SecondMilitaryMedicalUniversity,Shanghai200433,China5Na9onalKeyLaboratoryofCropGene9cImprovement,HuazhongAgriculturalUniversity,Wuhan430070,China6DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesandCentreforBioImagingSciences,Na9onalUniversityofSingapore,Singapore117543,Singapore7 University of Adelaide-SJTU Joint Centre for Agriculture and Health, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine,UniversityofAdelaide,WaiteCampus,Urrbrae,SouthAustralia

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32

ANINTERDISCIPLINARYTRAININGNETWORKTOADDRESSKEYQUESTIONSINPLANTDEVELOPMENTFORFOODSECURITY

CONTACTDETAILS:Ifyouneedanyinforma3on,please,donothesitatetocontactus.ResearchAdministrator–MiriamColombi:[email protected]–Prof.ZoeWilson:[email protected]:SchoolofBiosciencesUniversityofNoinghamSuoonBoningtonCampusLoughboroughLeicestershire,LE125RDUKTelephonenumber:+441159516331Website:www.cpib.ac.uk/net4fs

ThisbrochurehasbeenproducedwiththefinancialassistanceoftheEuropeanUnion.ThecontentsofthisdocumentarethesoleresponsibilityoftheUniversityofNoingham,ShanghaiJiaoTongUniversityandCIRADandcanundernocircumstances

be regarded as reflec3ng the posi3on of the EuropeanUnion. Every effort has beenmade to ensure that the informa3on

contained inthisbrochure isaccurateatthe3meofpublishing,butchangesare likelytooccur.Wherethere isadifferencebetweenthecontentsofthisbrochureandourwebsite,thecontentsofthewebsitetakeprecedence.