1. Digital Technologies to Modernize Effective and Efficient use of Plant Genetic Resources
Eric Huttner and Miriam McCormack
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
IAC 2016, New Delhi, India

2. ACIAR Agricultural Research arm of the Australian Aid program.
Broker partnerships between Australian (or International Centres) and Developing Countries Scientists to undertake research for development.
12 Research Programs to target specific areas of agricultural production. About 100 M AUD annual budget.
Head office in Canberra, Australia with Country Offices located in Partner Countries and regions.
Aligned with partner country priorities and Australian government priorities

3. ACIAR Priorities Projects are commissioned based on country priorities
©EHuttner2013
Projects are commissioned based on country priorities
Australian Aid program priorities:
Economic growth, trade, productivity as a way out of poverty
Focus on the Asia-Pacific region
Empowering women and girls - target of 80% across project portfolio
Engage and promote private sector
Nutrition
Address climate change and its consequences

4. Crop Improvement and Management
Food security through increased productivity
Agronomic practices can be improved but they are constrained:
Land, Labour, Water, Inputs
Sustainability
Post-harvest opportunities: markets, products storage
Farming systems: Using more productive crops
Diversification: crops, varieties
Increased productivity through the seeds
Better varieties may:
give higher yield
resist disease and pests, minimise losses
have better quality, higher protein, vitamins, cooking
Improvement is delivered through seeds
easy to adopt
limited change required
need to produce and distribute the seeds
But other improvements contribute too!
Improved varieties need genetic resources and exchange

5. Modernising plant breeding in the 21st century
DNA
Phenotypic data
Information Technologies
Modelling Genetic x Environment x Management
New breeding approaches
Challenges for developing countries
Breeding is not enough
India 17th Century, National Gallery of Australia

6. Phenotype to Genotype The age of DNA
Low-cost, extensive genetic information
Genome sequence as the ultimate indexer for data
Whole genome genotyping for breeding
Microarrays
Sequence based
Low density typing
High throughput
Low cost per sample
Outsourcing data production
Expand genetic diversity
©Nick Loman

7. Better phenotyping
Breeding effectiveness and efficiency relies on data
Electronic data capture
Reduce errors (barcodes, sample tracking)
Increase throughput
New type of data: drones, multispectral images, Near Infra Red analysis, …
Digital systems to manage experiments
Back up, cloud storage, disaster recovery
The end of field books? Not sure!
Sorghum Breeding program
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research

8. IT for effective data management
Breeding information management system
Need to manage
Lines, seeds, pedigrees
Field experiments
Phenotypic data
Genotypic data (link with suitable database)
Links with Gene Banks
Interface with data analysis tools
Multiple options: public and private
Examples (not an exhaustive list!)
IBP:
Agrobase:
KDDArT:
Dedicated systems from CIMMYT and IRRI

9. Modelling and Simulation
Integrating soil, climate, variety traits and crop management
Inform breeding strategies: decide which traits for which context
Evaluate climate risks
Inform farmers: better decision making at planting time
Work in progress! Used by modern plant breeders.
Practical application to farm level will require innovation in agriculture extension

10. New breeding approaches
Large amount of reliable data captured and stored electronically
Machine learning opportunities (like in other fields of science)
Genomic Selection:
Build a genotype to phenotype model from a training set
Predict the breeding value from high density genotypic profiles in breeding populations
Applicable to developing countries, when program are modernized.
Using broader genetic diversity
Also non crop genomes: symbiont, rhizosphere

11. International Mung bean Improvement Network (IMIN)
Mung bean: an important traditional crop in South Asia
Opportunities: short duration crop, high value grain
Mini-Core Collection (MCC) from World Vegetable Centre phenotyped by 4 partners: India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Australia
MCC genotyped at high density
Partners will adopt a common data management system, electronic data capture.
Open network

12. Sorghum Improvement in Ethiopia
Water limitation causes significant crop losses and food insecurity in major dry-land sorghum growing regions
Project co-funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ACIAR
Enhance effectiveness and capacity of the national sorghum breeding program
New breeding design, larger experiments, digital data capture, phenotyping for grain quality using NIR.
Improve productivity of sorghum in the target rainfall zones of Ethiopia via breeding and agronomic research
APSIM to guide breeding and simulate alternative management options
Key drought adaptation mechanisms in sorghum

13. Molecular markers for wheat breeding in India
Combined skills of Indian and Australian wheat breeders and researchers
Improved wheat varieties for both countries using molecular technologies
Germplasm exchange: future varieties will contain traits from both countries
Testing Genomic Selection for yield
Traits: water use efficiency through deep roots, rust disease resistance, soil toxicity and waterlogging, grain quality
Deployment of the Integrated Breeding Platform as a data management system

14. Challenges to modernizing breeding programs
Skills, training
Institutional change: rewarding plant breeders for team work, genetic gain, not just for released varieties
Access to goods and services, modest amount of foreign currency may be needed
Access to expanded genetic diversity

15. Breeding impact Impact of improved varieties is clear
Seed is an effective intervention
BUT breeding needs:
Responding to demand
Seed systems
Extension and dissemination
Participation of the private sector
© Seeds of Life
Timor Leste 2004: Sweet potato trials

16. The power of international science cooperation
©ESA
Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, 6th of August 2014

17. ©EH(KhulnaBGD02/2013)