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Projects: Projects for Region Projects in China involving Research Partner in China: NF0436
Reference Number	NF0436
Title	Miscanthus germplasm collection from the Far East
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy) 50%; Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Applications for heat and electricity) 50%;
Research Types	Basic and strategic applied research 50%; Applied Research and Development 50%;
Science and Technology Fields	BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (Biological Sciences) 75%; BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science) 25%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Project Contact No email address given Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER)
Award Type	Standard
Funding Source	DEFRA
Start Date	01 September 2006
End Date	31 August 2007
Duration	12 months
Total Grant Value	£25,001
Industrial Sectors	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Region	West Midlands
Programme	DEFRA Bioenergy
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Project Contact , Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) (100.000%)
	Industrial Collaborator	Project Contact , Research Partner in China (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives	The general objective is to obtain key genetic resources for breeding high yielding and quality biomass varieties for the UK and Europe from source in Asia. Specific objectives 1. To establish institutional links between IGER and research institutes in China, Japan and Taiwan with interests in Miscanthus. 2. To liaise with partner institutes and Government officials to obtain permission to export germplasm to the UK under the rules of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). 3. To or ganise collections of 100 new Miscanthus and Triarrhena from 10 diverse sites in China with Dr. Xi from Dong Ying vocational college by February 2007. 4. To collect at least 20 new accessions in Japan, with an emphasis on M. sinensis condensatus and tetraploid M. sacchariflorus, the pututative parents of the high yielding triploid hybrids by Feb 2007. 5. To collect at least 20 genotypes including island populations of M. sinensis and M. floridulus and M. transmorresonensis from Taiwan with Dr. Yu-Chung Chiang, National Pingtung, University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan. 6. To raise plants collected in Asia from rhizomes and seeds. Plants from rhizomatous material will be quarantined 7. To supply new germplasm into the DEFRA funded Miscanthus breeding programme at IGER.
Abstract	Miscanthus is a tall perennial rhizomatous grass that has been identified as having strong potential as a biomass crop (Jones & Walsh, 2001). The genus Miscanthus originates in E. Asia (Hodkinson et al., 2002). It has been shown to grow well in cool temperate climates and is of particular interest because it utilises C4 photosynthesis and so has a high radiation, nitrogen, and water use efficiency compared with most C3 plants (Beale & Long, 1995; Beale & Long, 1997; Beale et al., 1999). Productivity trials testing a number of Miscanthus genotypes have been established in Sweden, Denmark, England, Germany and Portugal, and have shown the potential for high yields (Clifton-Brown et al., 2001). Although Miscanthus genotypes have produced high yields in many sites, further development of the crop is needed to spread the genetic risk associated with an over emphasis on the triploid M x giganteus. To this aim, some selection and breeding for Europe began in the 1990s in Germany (Deuter & Abraham, 1998), and a breeding programme was established with Defra funding in 2004 In the UK, new Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) compliant collections of Miscanthus germplasm were made by Kew Royal Botanical Gardens and ADAS over the past 9 years. These collections are useful, but many accessions were selected by taxonomists seeking botanical diversity, rather than the agronomic diversity needed by a breeding programme. The principal agronomic traits we are seeking to include are plant height, stem diameter at the base and stem density under a wide range of climatic and environmental conditions. We aim to make collections of vigorous Miscanthus sinensis, M. sacchariflorus (in China often classified as Triarrhena), M. floridulus and M. transmorrisonensis in China, Japan and Taiwan during the autumn 2006 and winter 2006/2007. This will greatly benefit the genetic improvement of miscanthus by introduction of superior agronomic traits. With each accession we will record the precise collection co-ordinates, morphological traits and ecological niche. A scaled overview and any interesting features of each accession will be photographed at the time of collection. Where seed is collectable, then this will be subject to normal IGER accession procedures. Where seed is not collected, but the plant scores well agronomically, we plan to ship portions of rhizomes and /or stem bases to quarantine in IGER. China The emphasis of this project will be on germplasm from China, since very promising agronomic traits (plant height, stem diameter and overwintering capacity) have been reported from the Miscanthus sacchariflorus (Triarrhena) species in field trials in Braunschweig in Germany. Furthermore these genotypes are diploid, thus simplifying breeding genetics. We have made contact with experts and a germplasm collection in China with a view to collecting material. We are aiming to collect 100 accessions with diverse agronomic traits from 10 sites in China between September 2006 and February 2007 (to maximise the chances of seed collection). Japan Natural hybridisation of M. sacchariflorus and a specific type of M. sinensis "condensatus" is reported in the Japanese literature (Matumura, 1986). The highly productive clone M. x giganteus was collected from central Japan in the 1930's We will collect M sacc, condensatus and natural hybrids from this area, which will provide valuable genetic material and clarify under what conditions natural hybridisation occurs with a view to improving the efficiency of breeding. Taiwan A series of Taiwanese publications report apomixes in M. sinensis. Apomixis (here defined as agamospermy, i.e. asexual reproduction via seeds) is a trait which would be highly valuable within the breeding programme, since it might allow fairly uniform seed production of Miscanthus as is found in cereals. This could lead to a large drop in the currently high establishment costs associated with planting M. x giganteus rhizomes. Furthermore, literature reports some of the most isolated Miscanthus populations on Taiwanese islands and therefore are important centres of pure genetic diversity.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	19/12/11