BELIS Work Packages

Objectives:

• To steer the project to ensure it reaches objectives, delivers results that will generate the expected outcomes.
• To put in place the procedures and tools needed to ensure that the project progresses in line with the Grant Agreement, the Consortium Agreement and that the project work plan produces timely and quality results.
• To organise project meetings and collaborative work, prepare project reports and ensure efficient internal communication amongst partners.

Tasks:

Task 1.1 – Strategic Steering
Task 1.2 – Scientific coordination and project monitoring
Task 1.3 – Administrative, logistical and financial management

Objectives:

• To bring together the community of breeders and other key actors of the value chain around themes of shared interest, to facilitate transfer and exploitation of BELIS outputs in order to boost legume breeding.
• To communicate and disseminate, through multiple stakeholder groups and geographical levels, the activities messages, achievements and main results of BELIS.
• The provision of a data management plan.

Tasks:

Task 2.1 – BELIS network establishment and governance
Task 2.2 – BELIS network activity
Task 2.3 – Communication tools
Task 2.4 – Dissemination portfolio
Task 2.5 – BELIS training portfolio
Task 2.6 – BELIS outputs exploitation management
Task 2.7 – BELIS data management plan

Objectives:

Development or optimization/update of breeder´s friendly (i.e. cost effective for many samples application) screening tools for important legume traits, prioritized by breeders and other value chain relevant actors, considering major and minor forages and grain legumes. Tools developed in WP3 will be used in WP 4, 5 and 6 for screening germplasm collections, genetic analysis and breeding. Depending on the state of the art, three situations are encountered: transfer from one species to another one (TRL7 in “donor” speciesTRL7 in “receiver” species), de novo development of phenotyping tools, when nothing is available yet for a trait species combination (TRL3TRL7); fine-tuning and refining existing tools (to make them usable for the large scale screenings needed by breeders) (TRL4TRL7).

Tasks:

Task 3.1 – Development of affordable protocols to estimate forage biomass and seed yield
Task 3.2 – Refining screening protocols for resistance to major biotic stresses
Task 3.3 – Refining screening protocols for resistance to abiotic stresses
Task 3.4 – Development/improvement of breeders’ friendly screening tools for innovative quality traits

Objectives:

• Develop more efficient low-cost genotyping solutions for grain and forage legumes.
• Identify trait-marker associations and develop genomic selection models for key agronomic traits.
• Establish a data repository for curated marker, phenotype and marker-trait association data.

Tasks:

Task 4.1 – Break technological lock-ins in legume genotyping
Task 4.2 – Phenotyping collections and research populations
Task 4.3 – Genotyping collections and research populations
Task 4.4 – Statistical analysis
Task 4.5 – Toolkit for legume breeding and research

Objectives:

• Validation of enhanced phenotyping techniques, developed either before or during the project (WP3), in breeding programs with special focus on UAV methodology and disease and pest tolerance screening.
• Validation of Marker Trait Associations (MTA), identified before or during the project (WP4) in breeding programmes, with focus on introduction of disease and pest tolerance.
• Validation of genomic prediction models, established before or during the project (WP4), enabling the selection of genetically complex traits such as drought resistance, yield and protein content.
• Generating a ´one-stop-shop´ comprising phenotyping and genotyping protocols and tools used for all 14 target species in BELIS.

Tasks:

Task 5.1 – Proof of concepts of advanced breeding schemes in forage legumes
Task 5.2 – Breeding of grain legumes
Task 5.3 – Inventory of tools and protocols dedicated to legume breeding

Objectives:

• Increased cost-efficiency and accuracy of DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability) testing for variety registration and seed lot certification, using molecular markers.
• Facilitate and increase efficiency of VCU (Value for Cultivation and Use) assessment of varieties to be registered; and optimize VCU field trials at the agrizone level.
• Reinforce and adapt variety recommendations for increased deployment of legume species and varieties in the current and future agroclimatic conditions in Europe.

Tasks:

Task 6.1 – Molecular markers for DUS and certification
Task 6.2 –Improved VCU
Task 6.3 – Variety Recommendation

Objective:

To evaluate existing as well as to identify, co-create, develop, pilot and support innovative and viable governance and business models facilitating the breeding of legumes as the basis for feed and food market development as well as providers of public ecosystem services.

Tasks:

Task 7.1 – Market trends for future looking legume breeding objectives
Task 7.2 –Showcasing diversity of successful governance and business models
Task 7.3 – Identification of innovative financing mechanisms for legumes breeding
Task 7.4 – Incorporation of value chain actors
Task 7.5 – Public policies and enabling environment
Task 7.6 – Co-creating innovative governance and business models in living labs