INNOVAR project outcomes point out how genomics can be used for characterizing and increasing the breeding value of durum varieties

Breeding of cereal crop can be boosted by leveraging genomics tools. The EU H2020 FP7 INNOVAR project aims at revising wheat CPVO Distinctness-Uniformity-Stability (DUS) and Ascertainment of Value for Cultivation and use (VCU) protocols by proposing a combination of traditional phenotyping and innovative genomics and phenomics. INNOVAR developed two panels of durum and bread wheat representative of the European germplasm (250 and 280 cultivars, respectively). Additionally, UNIBO and international partners assembled a golden-standard Svevo Durum wheat genome and a comprehensive Global Durum Genomic Resources including: (i) the Tetraploid Global Collection (TGC: 1,856 tetraploids), (ii) the Global Durum Panel (GDP: 1,033 varieties worldwide). All genetic resources were genotyped with the Illumina 90K wheat SNP Array and characterized under a network of field trials for: (i) 52 DUS agronomic traits, (ii) phenology, agronomic and quality traits including yield-components, (iii) 20 vegetation indexes obtained by UAV drone flights at eight key developmental stages, (iv) response to wheat diseases including Soil-Borne Cereal Mosaic Virus (SBCMV) and yellow rust (YR)...