Norfolk researchers received £3m boost to develop climate-resilient legume crops

The Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network (PCGIN), created at the John Innes Centre in 2008, will be using the funding during the next five years.   

The money will support PCGIN-affiliated researchers and its stakeholder network in delivering its mission to provide improved breeding material for the cultivation of peas, beans and other pulses in the UK.   

The researchers said that pulse crops are an important alternative protein source, and their cultivation improves soils in rotation schemes, reducing the need for nitrogen fertiliser.  

They explained that the research will address existing and new threats from pests and diseases, such as root rot in pea and bruchid beetle in faba bean.  

It will also target nutritional traits such as protein content, minerals and flavour components.  

Research expanded 

Professor Janneke Balk, group leader at the John Innes Centre and co-lead of PCGIN, said: “Over the last 17 years, PCGIN has made critical contributions to pea and faba bean development that are now close to being brought to market.  

“In the new funding phase, we will expand our research to lentil and common bean, which could be grown more widely in the future as we see higher temperatures in the UK.”  

PCGIN, led by the John Innes Centre, is in collaboration with the University of Reading, NIAB in Cambridge, the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University, and PGRO, the Processors and Growers Research Organisation, Peterborough.  

The consortium will also look at future climate impacts on UK pulse crops using models from the Met Office. 

In addition to conventional genetic improvement, gene editing methods will be developed for pea and faba bean.   

Dr Sanu Arora, group leader at the John Innes Centre and co-lead of PCGIN, added that the next five years are key for developing new pulse crops for the UK. 

“We need to work closely with farmers and growers to ensure that our research is targeting the traits that they need in their fields,” she concluded. 

Enormous threat to agriculture 

The researchers said that climate change poses an “enormous threat” to agriculture, both in the UK and around the world.  

Legumes, including peas, beans and lentils, have a major environmental benefit because they can harvest, or fix, nitrogen from the air with the help of symbiotic bacteria in the soil. This means that they can be grown without the need for inorganic sources of nitrogen, in the form of fertilisers, which have a damaging impact on biodiversity and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.  

Nearly half of the protein in the human diet comes from plants, mostly pulses. The protein composition is different from animal protein, and less ideal for essential amino acids. 

Understanding the genetic basis of variation in protein enables breeding for better varieties with a more nutritious content, or properties suitable for plant-based alternatives of meat, they added. 

Critical juncture 

PCGIN will invest in gene-editing of pea and faba bean to accelerate genetic improvement and will develop new genetic resources.  

The latter includes resources to enable cultivation of lentils and Phaseolus (baked beans) in the UK and address questions such as what types of genetic variation do we need to ensure resistance to local pests and diseases?  

Dr Donal O’Sullivan, PCGIN collaborator at the University of Reading, said: “This new phase of PCGIN comes at a critical juncture where we need to address the twin challenges of meeting growing demand for sustainably produced plant protein and at the same time mitigating the negative impacts of climate change.”   

“Critically, it also enables the training of a new cohort of highly skilled pulse geneticists and brings together complementary skills and capabilities of the partners in a strong national network dedicated to maximising the health and sustainability opportunities represented by our pulse crops.”  

Dr Catherine Howarth, PCGIN collaborator at IBERS, added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to develop tools and genetic resources to enhance resilience to climate change in legumes such as peas and beans using the precision phenotyping platforms available at IBERS.  

“These nitrogen-fixing crops provide novel cropping options to enhance environmental sustainability and agrobiodiversity in the UK.”   

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