GoodBerry Concept
GoodBerry will use novel approaches for genetic improvement of berries in different environments which is absent in current breeding programs - caused by the genetic complexity of these species and the complex plant-environment interaction and particular management practices.
Plant Adaption (WP1)
Sustainable cropping
European growers need cultivars and growing systems that secure high yield and high quality fruits grown under environmentally safe and economically viable conditions. Currently, market globalization means that growers need to maintain high standardization of production systems whilst continuing to source and maintain genetic resources with high yield level. However, it is well known that increasing yield can be detrimental to quality traits. Therefore, the main goal of GoodBerry is to find new factors (biochemical/genes/alleles/locis) controlling plant adaptation, fruit production and fresh fruit quality.
Old and new cultivars covering contrasting geographical locations and a century of breeding in EU on open fields and in greenhouses
- Yield potential
- Harvest initiation
- Flower initiation
- Dormancy
- Transcriptome analyis (RNAseq, qRT-PCR)
- Growing areas strawberry:
- Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Poland, China and Chile (different latitudes)
- Growing areas blackcurrant:
- Germany, Norway, Scotland, Poland
- Growing areas raspberry:
- Germany, Norway, Scotland, Poland, France, Chile (different latitudes)
Management Practices (WP2)
GoodBerry aims to improve cultivation techniques and develop adaptation strategies to changing climatic conditions, as well as to minimize negative impacts on the environment. This aim is achieved by searching and applying optimal management of conditions being most appropriate to enhance production efficiency, and also by the promotion of season extension with desired traits.
Old and new cultivars covering contrasting geographical locations and century of breeding in EU on open fields, in plastic tunnels and greenhouses
- Yield potential
- Flower initiation
- Dormancy
- Biotic stresses (temperature, light, fertilizer)
- Growing areas strawberry:
- Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Poland, China and Chile (different latitudes)
- Growing areas blackcurrant:
- Poland, Norway, Germany
- Growing areas raspberry:
- Norway, Poland, Italy, Chile (different latitudes)
QTL architecture across environments (WP3)
Modern –omic technologies
Omic technologies provide an unprecedented opportunity to create a framework of state-of-the-art integrated analytical platforms, covering from transcriptomic to volatile compounds, including primary and secondary metabolites with a great cross-platform integration potential. Data generated from their applications lead to the identification and the design of harmonized and standardized evaluations protocols, resulting in a comprehensive database for genotype/environment interactions.
New segregating population under 5 locations evaluated for developmental and fruit traits on open fields and soilless
- High-throughput genotyping Affymetrix platform
- Transcriptome analyis (RNAseq, qRT-PCR)
- QTLs and eQTLs identification for Gx E xM
- Growing areas strawberry:
- Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain
Environmental impact on fruit quality (WP4)
Modern –omic technologies
Omic technologies provide an unprecedented opportunity to create a framework of state-of-the-art integrated analytical platforms, covering from transcriptomic to volatile compounds, including primary and secondary metabolites with a great cross-platform integration potential. Data generated from their applications lead to the identification and the design of harmonized and standardized evaluations protocols, resulting in a comprehensive database for genotype/environment interactions.
- Metabolite analysis
- Primary metabolism
- Secondary metabolism (non-volatile)
- Volatile
- Sensory analysis (odour, texture, flavour)
- Allergen content
Data Management and Analysis (WP5)
Data integration as an essential element
Data integration, evaluation and analysis bring key elements in the GoodBerry project together. Massive data integration will allow to comprehensive evaluate the multitude of different techniques applied to identify new genes/alleles/locis controlling yield, fruit quality in different environments, which will be evaluated using specific and well addressed functional studies.
- Sustainable data & metadata storage
- Data Integration
- Joint analysis of Genotypes, Environment & Management
- Interaction of G,E,M & Interaction of yield and quality
Maintain profitable production in Europe
Within Europe, the fresh berries’ demand is increasing over the last years. Currently, the total EU import value increased by 85% (CBI Market Information Database. www.cbi.eu). The competition from excessive imports from non-EU countries with low labour cost must be counter balanced by developing modern, profitable production systems offering the consumer added advantages such as high vitamin content and/or better taste. The improvement of cultivation efficiency and increased commercial value of the fruit helps to overcome the labour problems by achieving more efficient production and higher prices by added value. The output from the project impacts directly on the competitiveness of European agriculture production and industry. The results from the project facilitate expansion of existing markets, and the creation of new markets and companies, increasing agricultural diversification and European prosperity.
Trans-disciplinary aspects of GoodBerry
GoodBerry's overall approach is pursued with the support of various actors of the berries market (suppliers) and the participation of industrial partners, most of them are SMEs. The project fits into the ‘multi-actor approach’ concept as farmers and SME breeding companies participate in the design and in the execution of the studies. Farmers will contribute with the cultivation and agronomical evaluation of the varieties under their traditional conditions and compare it to modern cultural conditions. For industrial partners, having access to a fundamental knowledge base as well as exploitable advances made by the consortium, the project results impact directly on their competitiveness. Industrial partners help to identify suitable target audiences for the most effective dissemination of the results to maximize the impact of the project.