First meeting of the NEPAD/ NABNet Barley initiative
Project title:
" Genetic Improvement of Nutrition Quality and Drought and Salinity Tolerance of North African Barely"
4-6 February 2008, Tunisia (Centre de Biotechnologie à la Technopole de Borj Cedria , Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique de Tunisie)
Venue and participants
The meeting has been held in Center of Biotechnology, Borj Cedria Technopark and Institut National de la recherche Agronomique de Tunisie during three days 4-6 february 2008. Below is the list of the scientists who attended the meeting in its different sessions as contributors to the project:
CBBC
Laboratoire d'Adaptation des Plantes aux Stress Abiotiques
Chedly Abdelly, Prof, Director of Laboratory
Mohamed Gharsalli, Prof
Barhoumi Zouhaier, Dr., post doc
Dorsaf Mrs, PhD under progress
INRAT
Laboratoire de Biotechnologie et de Physiologie Végétale
Mbarek Bennaceur, DR, Director of Laboratory
Ramzi Chaabane, Assistant, Dr,
Eleyes Babay
Raoudha Abdellaoui
NRC
Plant Biotechnology Dept., Genetic Engineering & Biotech. Division
Mahmoud Saker, Prof,
AGERI/ARC
Ahmad Nada, Dr,
INRAA
Dalila Ramla, Associate researcher, MSc, PhD under progress
Barley group meeting with the heads of CBBC and INRAT
The participants of the NEPAD/ NABNet barley workshop had meetings with:
1)Prof Abdelwahed Ghorbel Director General of CBBC in a lunch time and with his deputy Mrs: …….. in the first day for a welcome address and launching the meeting.
2)Dr Amor Chermiti Director General of INRAT in his office, and for presentation of INRAT program and for a lunch
During these meetings, the participants have presented to the representatives of the concerned institutions the institutions they come from in their countries. The presented to, the approach and the objectives of the project in it first phase, as well as the expected impact especially for the preparation of a wider barley regional project for North Africa for the second phase 2010-2015. They explained their specific tasks in the project and how the will complement to implement a multidisciplinary approach necessary for NEPAD/ NABNet Barley initiative. The Director of NABNet explained how this project is initiated according to the vision and strategy of NEPAD based on ownership, cost sharing, and benefit for developing knowledge and economy, and how this first seed project will be managed to develop the skill of the initiating group and to generate adhesion to this project and to learn from its process for well establishing the coming NABNet initiatives.
The DGs appreciated the goals of the project and the NEPAD/ NABNet process. they expressed their readiness to support the Barley initiative and its extension and durabilty. They asked as well NABNet to extend its projects to the other NABNet areas of priority in which their laboratories can take fully part. They promised to stress through their links for on he adequacy of NEPAD ision and they contribute to strenghen collaborative NABNet initiatives in the region and the continent.
Barley Group meeting with Directors of laboratories from CBBC and INRAT
The attendees to Barley meeting had the opportunitity to meet with some directors of Laboratories and coordinators of projects from the two institutions. The presence of Dr Mouldi Faleh Director of Laboratory of field crops, INRAT, a specialist in Barley with high notoriety in the meeting with INRAT director as well as the discusion of the strategy of the barley project enhanced the debate and has been well appreciated by the participants. Beyond the scope of barley initiative some areas of collaboration have been identified. In particular Dr Mohamed Kharrat coordinateur of the program of grain legumes at INRAT, Prof Mokhtar Zarrouk, Director of Huile quality olive oil, Prof ferid Limam Director of lab legumes microorganisms emphasises on the importance of developing initiative dealing bioactive substances and biocontrol, legumes breeding and improving their nteractioons with beneficial microorganisms and improving the qulity of the olive oil.
Background of the NEPAD/ NABNet barley teams and their expectation from the project
Chedly Abdelly: He presented the CBBC and the activities of his Lab dealing with abiotic stress and crops and plants studied. He summarised the major results and capacity of his Lab and emphasized on his input in Barley project based on the complementary approach adopted by the other partners. He intend to contribute in physiological characterisation of barley germplasm and he will focus on salt reponse and iron content and nutrion
Mahmoud Saker: He presented the NRC organization and Nobel project he is leading in this institute. He showed the competency of his team in tissu culture and molecular analysis of some plants like palm dates and other crops. Based on his experience he will contribute to the fingerprinting of the collection and will perform transformation with genes of interest to the nutritional improvement of the elite north african barley accessions
Ahmed Nada: He presented AGERI structure and Ongoing projects and available skill in this institute. he emphasized on the capacity useful to make consistent progress in Barley project. The facilities for genomics and proteomics established in AGERI as well as his own back groung in genetic engineering will be valorised to fulfill his tasks. He will, based on regeneration approach from immature embryos, perform transformation with genes dealing with tolerance to salt and drought into the elite accessions
Dalila Ramla: She documented the situation of barley in Algeria in terms of areas, yield, cultivars, use for feeding and food. She presented the Ongoing classical breeding programs in INRAA and their recent activity of creating variability based on ray mutation in embryoses. She intend to contribute in the project through this latter approach and hopes to use her skill for making crosses between selected mutants and wild types to gather the targeted features
Mbarek Bennaceur: He presented INRAT evolution and its current structures, Humain resources and programs. He gave a compréhensive statment of the international collaboration projects and local national mandate and the specific mission of the stations of INRAT widespread in the country. Based on the skill of his lab he will contribute to physiological, biochemical and Molecular characterization useful to analyse diversity and tolerance to drought. He expect support from the partners for cloning and genomic analyses.
Design of the project
The participants dedicated one part of their time to brainstorm about the conceptual and implementing aspects. The project is conceived as a two phases project. The phase 1 is supported from CIDA/NEPAD Fund and corresponds to an initiating phase whereas the phase 2 will depend on the support from other supportive bodies from north africa or internationally.
Here is presented a general outline of the design of the Phase 1
Major Goal: The overall goal of this project is to expand culture of Barley and improve its yield in north africa through development of new cultivars based on their nutritional quality and adaptation to tolerance to water deficit and salt. This will be based on a multidisciplinary approach exploiting the diversity among north african germplasm and developing marker assisted selection (MAS) and transgenesis .
General Objectives: *Identification from the available germplasm of biochemical, molecular, physiological and agronomic traits vaaluable for assessing tolerance to drought and salt and for high nutritioanl value
* Genetic improvement of existing germplasm through tissu culture and mutation, MAS and production of newly transgenic plants.
Specific tasks: *Physiological evaluation for salt tolerance.
*Physiological evaluation for drought tolerance.
*Molecular finger printing and functional markers
*Evaluation for iron and phytic acid content
* Tissu culture and ray mutation for creating valuable variability .
*Gene transfer to improve tolerance to drought and Salt.
*Transfer of genes of Nutritional interest.
*Marker assisted selection.
These tasks have been identified and allocated to the PIs and the link between the teams has been specified, stratified and scheduled during the life time of the project
Expected outcomes:*New knowledge available to the sceintific communities about biological
backgroud in barley
*New tools for breeding and selection of Barley
*Improved nutritional quality of Barley
*Better adaptability of barley to prevaling eco geographic conditions in the
region
*Extension of scientific and development community dealing with barley an
dits areas of use
Potenial impact: *Reducing import of food and feed and sustainable agriculture
*Improving of the health status of north african population
* Valorisation of areas affected by drought and salt or marginal zones
*Establishment of a cereal consortium in north africa useful for the development and increasing credibility at the international level through high level scientific production and competetiveness of the barley sector
Mangement : *Task leaders are identified and constitute the scientific committee of the project
*Two persons from this committe with manage the link between the involved teams in terms of sticking to the time line of tasks, deliverables and reporting
*The project is dedicated 140 000 US $ from which 80 000 will be transferred to the teams in their institutions for consumables spear parts and support of the young scientists. The remaining 60 000 US$ will be dedicated to follow up with he meetings for auto evaluation of the group, for the formation and expertise exchange, for associating new competences from the region to expand the group to other institutions and other countries to fulfill the project for the second phase and for associating international expertise necessary to improve the skill and the scope of the project and bring added value to the north africa barley consortium… Thes 60 000 will be managed from NABNet Secretariat
Involved PIs and related teams:
NRC
Plant Biotechnology Dept., Genetic Engineering & Biotech. Division
Mahmoud Saker, Prof,
Ahmed Fawzy
Miss Shimaa Mohamed
AGERI/ARC
Ahmad Nada, Dr,
Mohamed Yousof Hazman
INRAT
Laboratoire de Biotechnologie et de Physiologie Végétale
Mbarek Bennaceur, DR, Director of Laboratory
Mouldi faleh
Ramzi Chaabane, Assistant, Dr,
Eleyes Babay
Raoudha Abdellaoui
CBBC
Laboratoire d'Adaptation des Plantes aux Stress Abiotiques
Chedly Abdelly, Prof, Director of Laboratory
Mohamed Gharsalli, Prof
Barhoumi Zouhaier, Dr., post doc
Dorsaf Mrs, PhD under progress
INRAA
Dalila Ramla, Associate researcher, MSc, PhD under progress
Benyammi Rokia
Krimate Soumya
The director of INRAA Belabbes station
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