Welcome to WGIN 2nd Phase (2009-2013)
Defra Wheat Genetic Improvement Network - Improving the environmental footprint of farming through crop genetics and targeted traits analysis
Background
The UK government is committed to more sustainable agriculture but this vision is facing an ever expanding range of environmental, energy and climate change challenges. Wheat is grown on a larger area and is more valuable than any other arable crop in the UK. Established in 2003, the Wheat Genetic Improvement Network (WGIN) arose directly from a realisation in the early 2000s that over the preceding two decades there had been a widening disconnection between commercial plant breeding activities and publicly funded plant and crop research. The overall aim of WGIN is to generate pre-breeding material carrying novel traits for the UK breeding companies and to deliver accessible technologies, thereby ensuring the means are available to produce new, improved varieties. An integrated scientific 'core' which combines underpinning work on molecular markers, genetic and genomic research, together with novel trait identification, are being pursued to achieve this goal.
RECENT UPDATES
OLD Site - The old site is still available here.
Sponsored by: Defra (UK) 
Hosted by: Rothamsted Research
Maintained by: Elke Anzinger
Edited by: Kim Hammond-Kosack
Designed by: Pierre Carion
Last updated: June 2009