MSc. Alice Brunazzi
Supervisor: Prof. Mario Enrico Pè
PhD Programme Agrobiosciences – Genomics and Crop Science
alice.brunazzi@sssup.it
Exploiting Wild Wheat Relatives for food
security through the identification of genes
involved in adaptation to climate change

Scientific context and state of the art
Objectives and scientific hypotheses
Methods and roadmap
Results
Outline

Scientific context and state of the art
1. Climate change is one of the most urgent and important
challenges of our time
2. We must produce plants able to thrive in new climates, with
changing biotic and abiotic pressures
Diversity
Natural
Populations
Cultivated
Species
Elite
Cultivars

Scientific context and state of the art
3.92Gb

Objectives and scientific hypotheses
Evaluate the genetic variability present in a large collection of T. urartu populations
sampled from different regions throughout the Fertile Crescent.
• using genotyping-
by- sequencing
technology for
the purposes of
discovering and
genotyping SNPs
molecular
• relating
environmental data
to genetic diversity
data through
landscape
genomics
for the discovery of
adaptive alleles
geographical • in situ and ex situ
for the evaluation
of T. urartu fitness
variation and
identifying QTL for
favorable
characters
phenotypical

Methods and roadmap
Plant material
Plant materials consist of different populations of Triticum urartu L.
representing the whole set of collected T. urartu accessions available
GIS analysis
• DIVA- GIS 7.5
• QGIS 2.4.0 coupled with BioClim Data
Field experiment
•The first year field experiment is mostly dedicated to seeds multiplication for each
accession
•Sowed December 2014 at CRIBE
Genotyping-by-Sequencing approach
Genotyping by sequencing is based on high-throughput next-generation
sequencing of genomic subsets targeted by restriction enzymes

Results
Collection assembly and field set up
Country
Number of
accessions
Armenia 20
Iran 18
Iraq 73
Jordan 6
Lebanon 110
Syria 45
Turkey 136
Unknown 20
428
accessions
68109251

Results
Temperature
PluviometryAltitude

Results
EcoCrop modelling in DIVA-GIS + BioClim data
Worldclim 2.5 minutes data (years ~1950-2000, ~5 Km)
Temperature
Precipitations

Results
Genotyping – by – sequencing assess
24 accessions
12h 24°C light / 12h 22°C dark
10 days

Plans for 2015
dic-14 gen-15 feb-15 mar-15 apr-15 mag-15 giu-15 lug-15 ago-15 set-15 ott-15 nov-15 dic-15
Sowing
Harvest
Landscape genomics analysis
1° Semester 2° Semester
A.Y. 2014/2015
Phenotypic characterization
Seed characterization
GBS Protocol testing
Molecular characterization (GBS)

• Experimental Methodology in Agrobiosciences (3 CFU)
• Principles of Agrobiodiversity* (4 CFU)
• Agronomy*(3 CFU)
• Introduction to Bioinformatics* (2 CFU)
• German Language (Basic level)* (2 CFU)
• Complements of Genetic* (2 CFU)
 17/02/2014 Seminar - Proteomic Analysis with SELDI-TOFCIPHERGEN/BIORAD Platform: Current Prospects. (4h)
 27/02/2014 Seminar - Exploring the molecular mechanism of flooding survival strategy. (1h)
 05/03/2014 Workshop - Next Generation Biology: approaches for genome-wide analysis. (8h)
 18/04/2014 Seminar – Poplar and willow: from stress physiology to phytoremediation applications. (2h)
 08/05/2014 Seminar- Cereal production: a new direction? (2h)
 16/05/2014 Workshop – OGM, dalla realtà del laboratorio all’immaginario collettivo. (4h)
 29/05/2014 Seminars – Past and present of Einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) - Geographic distribution and
domestication of wild Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccoides). (2h)
 18/06/2014 Workshop - Nutraceuticals in plants and functional foods. (4h)
 24 to 19/09/2014 Congress - FISV Congress (24h)
 20/10/2014 Workshop - Bioinformaticha 3 (8h)
 07/11/2014 Workshop - Biology in Space: challenges and opportunities. (8h)
 13/11/2014 Seminar - Which seed systems can support adaptation to climate change? (1h)
Expo-School: Agricoltura e Alimentazione (40h)
7 April – 11 April, 2014 at Laboratorio EXPO 2015
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli – Via Romagnosi 3, Milan (I)
http://www.fondazionefeltrinelli.it/project/expo-school-agricoltura-
e-alimentazione
Final Grade of examination: Idoneo
Summer-School: Plant Molecular Breeding to Meet the Challenges of Climate
Change (80h)
7 July - 18 July, 2014 at BOKU
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Campus Tulln (A)
http://www.euroleague-study.org/95909
Final Grade of examination: A (Excellent)