DSSS - Back to the future: Using ancient barley landraces for a sustainable future

Future crops need to be sustainable in the face of climate change. Modern barley varieties have been bred for high productivity and quality; however, they have suffered considerable genetic erosion, losing crucial genetic diversity. This renders modern cultivars vulnerable to climate change and stressful environments. I will highlight the potential to tailor crops to a specific environment by utilising diversity inherent in an adapted landrace population. Tapping into natural biodiversity, while incorporating information about local environmental and climatic conditions, allows targeting of key traits and genotypes, enabling crop production in marginal soils. An example of this is Bere which is an ancient barley that was once widely grown in northern Britain, where its ability to grow on poor soils and under challenging climatic conditions made it a valuable staple. By the end of the 20th century, Bere had largely been replaced by higher-yielding modern varieties and only survived in cultivation on a few Scottish islands. recent revival of Bere, driven by its use in high-value food and drink products and multidisciplinary research into its genetics, valuable sustainability traits and potential for developing resilient barley varieties is an exemplar of our approach. I will conclude by outlining future directions for the utilisation of genetic resources maintained in landrace collections to support sustainable agriculture through germplasm development via the use of genomics technologies and big data.