Climate change, population growth combined with the need for improved sustainability represent mayor challenges to agriculture worldwide. Crop breeding can make key contributions to counter some of these challenges. Recent developments of novel crop breeding techniques (such as gene editing) have the potential to significantly accelerate crop breeding processes.

At this online conference, organised in the frame of the BUNGEE ERC project, we want shed light on the recent developments in novel crop breeding techniques, discuss examples about how those can contribute to a more sustainable agriculture and also about the different challenges that innovations in this sector encounter which can limit progress in Europe.

This conference is free of charge, everybody’s welcome!

25. May 2022 (all times for CET)

12:30

Welcome & Introduction:

Using crop genome dynamics for stress adaptation and the challenges in breeding innovation in Europe

Etienne Bucher, Agroscope, Switzerland

13:00

Boosting plant genome editing with a versatile CRISPR-Combo system

Yiping Qi, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Maryland, U.S.A.

13:30

Targeted mutagenesis for virus resistance in Barley

Robert Hoffie, IPK Gatersleben, Germany

14:00

Field trials - the missing link in plant biotechnology and synthetic biology

Jonathan Napier, Rothamsted Research, UK

14:30

Precision Genetic Technologies for Crop improvement: a case study from banana

Leena Tripathi, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Tanzania

15:00

New plant breeding technologies, regulation, and sustainable food security

Matin Qaim, Center of Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany

15:30

Improving nutritional and health aspects of durum wheat using CRISPR gene editing

Francesco Camerlengo, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, U.S.A.

16:00

Closing

We encourage attendants to also consider these two online lectures by Caixia Gao and Holger Puchta that will take place right after this conference.