Duration
01.06.2007 - 31.05.2010

Coordinator
GenXPro , Dr. Peter Winter, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Contract
ERA-PG 075B LEGRESIST within the framework of the 1st call ERA-NET Plant Genomics and the Trilateral Cooperation GABI-GENOPLANTE-MEC.
Funding for the German partners: BMBF/ FKZ: 0313997

Partnership
Consortium of 11 leading European centres for legume breeding and molecular biology, and 2 leading technology providers:
- AGROVEGETAL S.A, Spain
- Array-On GmbH, Germany
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Spain
- GenXPro GmbH, Germany
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, France
- Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse - École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse – INP ENSAT, France
- Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera (IFAPA-CICE, Junta de Andalucía), Spain
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica (ITQB-UNL), Portugal
- Instituto Tecnológico Agrario de Castilla y León (ITACyL), Spain
- Saatzucht Steinach GmbH, Germany
- Universidad de Leon (ULE), Spain
- Universidad de Valladolid, Spain
- University of Frankfurt, Germany

Objectives
- Exploiting genetic diversity of resistance genes on the level of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) for genetic mapping of all expressed resistance genes in major crop legumes;
- Understanding quantitative resistance through characterization of the interacting transcriptomes of plants and their pathogens by SuperSAGE analysis;
- Mapping of expression(e)Qtl underlying quantitative resistance.

Description
In Europe, agronomical, economical and ecological benefits of legumes for the entire agro-system are notoriously under-exploited due to their unstable yield caused by the plant’s susceptibility to a wide range of pathogens. Despite considerable investment and progress in use of molecular tools for resistance breeding, application of Marker-Assisted Selection and Marker-Assisted Pyramiding of resistance genes to obtain durable resistance is still hampered by non-sufficient knowledge of allelic diversity in resistance genes and the lack of insight into plant-pathogen interactions responsible for the hard-to-handle quantitative nature of resistance. Moreover, affordable, modern tools for advanced resistance breeding are missing.
Therefore, LEGRESIST aims at i) exploiting genetic diversity of resistance genes on the level of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) for genetic mapping of all expressed resistance genes in major crop legumes, ii) understanding quantitative resistance through characterization of the interacting transcriptomes of plants and their pathogens by SuperSAGE analysis and iii) mapping of expression(e)Qtl underlying quantitative resistance.

More information
LEGRESIST Website:  www.genxpro.info/science_and_technologies/Legresist