NIAB is part of a consortium of UK research groups which has secured a £7million research grant from the BBSRC to increase the diversity of traits available in wheat through a major new public sector pre-breeding programme (https://www.niab.com/news_and_events/article/173). The key members of the consortium include:
- John Innes Centre
- The University of Bristol
- The University of Nottingham
- Rothamsted Research
- NIAB
The project was featured in BBC TV’s Look East news programming on 3rd June 2011 (BBC Online: Research centres get cash for drought-resistant wheat) and on BBC 1’s The Politics Show on 5th June. NIAB’s Dr Lydia Smith explained how plant breeding could potentially adapt future wheat varieties to cope with drought conditions similar to those currently being experienced in the UK, and in particular East Anglia.
BBC’s The Politics Show is available to view online until 12th June 2011 on http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011r38q#clips. The final 30 minutes covers the drought in the Eastern Region with NIAB featured around 40 minutes into the programme.