The Legume Generation consortium will invest in innovation that boosts the breeding of legumes in Europe by combining the entrepreneurial focus of breeders with the broad inventiveness of the supporting research base. Six species-oriented breeder-led innovation communities will link practical breeding with the research-base in a transdisciplinary framework. They lead the innovation work and each is focused on the breeding of a single species or species type: soya bean (Glycine max); lupins (Lupinus spp); pea (Pisum sativum); lentil (Lens culinaris); phaseolus bean (Phaseolus spp. e.g. ‘common’ bean); and white and red clover (Trifolium repens and T. pratense). These are supported by the cross-project collection of intelligence on ideotype concepts, beneficial traits, a catalogue of legume species and cultivars, and breeding methods assembled in the Legume Generation Knowledge Centre; the production and validation of novel resources (genotypes, methods, and tools); screening, demonstration and testing of germplasm and new cultivars in different regions; training to support breeding gains in our innovation communities; governance and financial models, and business plans for inclusive plant breeding. All this will be supported by consortium internal and external dissemination and communications, including the extension of the European Legume Hub as a platform for sharing of knowledge. We currently run 43 breeding and pre-breeding programmes. We will give these a decisive boost through access to resources that accelerates the production of novel germplasm, innovating up to the point where newly bred germplasm and cultivars are proven on farm. Breeders will use the results to support expansion of legume production. Our innovation communities will be open to all relevant actors and provide a direct route for the dissemination of results to other users and interested stakeholders. Their sustainability beyond the life of the project will be supported by business plans.
Objectives
From six innovation communities, the species-specific breeding objectives 1 to 6 are as follows:
1. To boost the breeding of soya bean (Glycine max) for food and feed by implementing novel phenotyping and genomic tools to develop competitive cultivars with better adaptation to the specific European environmental conditions, increased yields, and improved end-use quality.
2. To boost the breeding of lupins (Lupinus spp. (e.g. L. albus, L. angustifolius) for food and feed by transferring yield-increasing, yield-stabilizing and nutritional-quality traits (e.g. non-dehiscence, pod- shattering resistance, anthracnose resistance, tolerance to calcareous soils, protein content) from genetic resources to sweet lupin cultivars to deliver measurable improved cultivars towards the 4/40 goal (4t/ha with 40% protein).
3. To boost the breeding of pea (Pisum sativum) for food and feed by exploiting genetic diversity to produce pea cultivars that are better tailored for cultivation in diverse environments across Europe, guided and implemented by our pea innovation community.
4. To boost the breeding of lentil (Lens culinaris) for food by providing new breeding lines derived from available germplasm resources to upgrade local genetic materials for higher yield and quality, and general adaptability to the European conditions.
5. To boost the breeding of phaseolus beans for food by harnessing genetic resources for multiple traits with an impact in yield, developing and use of innovative tools and breeding disease resistances.
6. To boost the breeding of clovers (white and red clover (Trifolium repens and T. pratense)) for forage by sourcing novel variation for environmental resilience in white clover through genome wide association studies of accessions stored in European seedbank collections, and by improving herbage and seed yield of white and red clover using self-incompatibility alleles.
These innovation communities are supported by the following enabling and servicing objectives:
7. To establish a digital “knowledge centre” that catalogues legume species and varieties, desired characteristics and traits (e.g. ideotypes), and breeding methods and research outcomes generated by the crop innovation communities and other stakeholders.
8. To support breeders with validated novel resources (genotypes, methods, and tools) for species- specific genetic improvement plans (Supporting genetic improvement) by developing cost-effective molecular and genomic selection methods.
9. To support the screening, demonstration and testing of germplasm and new cultivars by different actors in different regions/conditions through trait expertise groups, development of optimal, standardised phenotyping protocols, and evaluation of advanced phenotyping methods.
10. To deliver training to support breeding gains determined by the needs and expectations of our innovation communities.
11. To assess cost effectiveness of methods and develop governance and financial models, and business plans for inclusive plant breeding (Governance and finance models) by collecting and analyzing insights through at least 15 case studies supported by the six innovation communities.
12. To support consortium-internal and external dissemination and communications, including the extension of the European Legume Hub for sharing of knowledge and best practices.
