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Exploiting the Untapped potential of Fruit tree Wild DIVersity for Sustainable Agriculture

Project description

Sustainable agriculture to preserve nature’s treasures

As global changes intensify, the overlooked potential of crop wild relative(s) (CWRs) becomes a pressing concern for the health and nutrition of our growing population. Among these, temperate fruit trees, essential for the One Health Initiative, face underutilisation and vulnerability due to their extended lifespan and limited cultivar diversity. In this context, the EU-funded FRUITDIV project will use innovative genetic strategies and collaborative efforts to conserve and harness the diverse genetic wealth of emblematic fruit tree CWRs like Malus, Pyrus, and Prunus. Specifically, the project aims to characterise genetic diversity and identify traits vital for agronomic improvement. Innovative multiomics-based breeding strategies, coupled with farmer networks, will ensure resilient, disease-resistant, and high-quality fruit trees.

Objective

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are wild plant taxa closely related to a crop. They represent an important source of genetic diversity for the improvement of agronomic traits. In the context of the One Health Initiative, temperate fruit trees are essential for human nutrition and health, yet CWR resources have hitherto been underused. Moreover, fruit tree long lifespan and a current production dominated by a few cultivars make them particularly vulnerable to the effects of global changes. To address this challenge, the FRUITDIV project will monitor, characterise, use, and conserve the diversity of emblematic fruit tree CWR, with a particular emphasis on Malus, Pyrus and Prunus.
To better characterise the genetic and phenotypic diversity of CWR fruit trees and identify favourable traits for future introgression into cultivars, FRUITDIV will use a combination of floristic, ethnogeography and population genomics on genebanks and historical European hotspots of diversity. We will then develop new multiomics-based breeding strategies that combine marker-assisted introgression for traits of interest (e.g. resilience, resistance to pests and diseases, fruit quality) with pangenomic prediction and a reduction of CWR-associated genetic load.
In addition to breeding programs, FRUITDIV will also work with networks of farmers and associations to help characterise CWR progeny in various pedo-climatic conditions in Europe. An European-wide online platform that provides genotyping and phenotyping data for free will be implemented to promote the use of CWR genitors by breeders and farmers and help disseminate plant material of interest for various usages and cultivation systems.
Overall, the FRUITDIV multi-actor approach involving geneticists, forestry officers, germplasm curators, farmers and citizens, will foster the in- and ex-situ conservation of CWR and promote sustainable agricultural practices across Europe.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL6-2023-BIODIV-01

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Coordinator

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 568 128,75
Address
147 RUE DE L'UNIVERSITE
75007 PARIS CEDEX 07
France

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Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 601 376,25

Participants (26)

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