Feeding the Future!
The world’s population is expected to double by 2040. To feed everyone, we must increase agricultural productivity by at least 50% by the end of the century. However, we face significant challenges, like limited availability of uncultivated land and the impacts of climate change. Farmers in Australia are experiencing higher temperatures and lower winter rainfall, affecting their crops.
To tackle these issues, we need to breed new crop varieties that are highly tolerant to extreme weather and can rapidly adapt to changing climates. Prof Li Chengdao, Dr Penghao Wang, Dr Brett Chapman , and Dr Viet Dang from Western Crop Genetics Alliance (WCGA), a joint research centre between Murdoch University and the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development (DPIRD), are using Pawsey’s supercomputing power to develop pangenomes – comprehensive genetic roadmaps – for barley, lupin, and oat, key crops in Western Australia. ️
The pangenome projects for barley, oat, and lupin have developed accessible databases with graphical interfaces, enabling real-time interactive exploratory analyses at various levels for breeders and scientists. These genetic 🧬 resources and visualisation systems will improve the genetic selection process and help deliver improved crop varieties to growers. Using machine learning and advanced statistical modelling in Setonix, the WCGA has developed a prototype haplotype prediction method to help breeders design novel crop varieties optimised for specific environmental conditions.
Read the full paper: https://bit.ly/45GYYQ3
Project Leader.
