Hutton Highlights, February 2019

6 Hutton Highlights Awards, Accolades & Appointments The James Hutton Institute has won a VIBES – Scottish Environment Business award in the Adaptation to Climate Change category, on account of the work of Hutton researchers in farm innovations to protect the environment, renewable energy projects and the International Barley Hub’s efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of barley supplies in a changing climate. Now in their 19th year, the VIBES awards urge Scotland’s businesses to challenge their everyday working practices and embrace the economic opportunity of sustainability. The Adaptation to Climate Change judging panel included David Balmford, Denise Main (both from SEPA) and Ellen Eyles (Scottish Water). The judges visited the Institute’s Invergowrie site in September to find out more about work to develop barley varieties and farming systems to cope with climate change. They also visited Balruddery Farm to learn about our innovative Magic Margins and the Centre for Sustainable Cropping. Professor Colin Campbell commented: “We are proud to have been recognised at this year’s VIBES Awards in the adaptation to climate change category. “It is a real testament to the hard work and commitment from everyone at the Institute with our partners doing whatever we can to reduce our impact on the environment and deliver a sustainable future. “The Awards provide a great spotlight on good practice that improves operations as well as benefitting the environment, and we hope others are inspired to make their own positive changes.” On announcing this year’s finalists, Bob Downes, chair of SEPA and head of the VIBES judging panel, said: “The VIBES Awards are a great chance to recognise business leadership in sustainable environmental investment. New approaches for delivering environmental improvements provide businesses with opportunities to enhance their sustainability and economic performance. “The Awards celebrate businesses which are already stepping up to this challenge and are leading by example and are an excellent opportunity to recognise and reward these companies for going beyond ‘business as usual’ and driving sustainable growth through innovation. It is very encouraging to see so many of Scotland’s businesses leading the way and making a difference which will not only support the environment but also protect their bottom line.” John Dalziel, of Common Farm in East Ayrshire, picked up the Hutton-sponsored 2018 Nature of Scotland Award for Food & Farming, for his efforts to integrate wildlife conservation into his successful farming system and his work with partners to restore peatlands, create wetlands and conserve curlews. The award was presented by Professor Colin Campbell at a ceremony held at the Edinburgh Sheraton Grand Hotel with 48 finalists and more than 330 guests in attendance. Mr Dalziel and his family have farmed in East Ayrshire since the 1950s, and farming in the area presents numerous challenges, including threats to the region’s internationally relevant wildlife. Eric Neilson earned a highly commended mention for transforming Meserhead Farm, formerly arable land, into a wildlife-rich coastal wetland, restoring watercourses and pools, installing sluices, clearing ditches and removing scrub. “Food and farming are becoming even more important as Scotland aims to expand its food and drink sector, and this award recognises the people who are managing our farmland and producing food in ways that support nature,” said Professor Colin Campbell. The Nature of Scotland Awards recognise and celebrate excellence, innovation and outstanding achievement in nature conservation, and bring together industry professionals, public sector organisations, community groups, politicians, charities and conservationists who share a common interest in preserving Scotland’s precious natural heritage. A University of Dundee scientist based at the Institute has been awarded almost £1.25 million to study the interaction between plants and soil microbes, with the ultimate aim of boosting sustainable food production. Dr Davide Bulgarelli, a principal investigator at the UoD Division of Plant Sciences, located at the Institute’s Invergowrie site, has been awarded two research grants each exceeding £620,000 from the European Commission and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). As part of the first grant, Dr Bulgarelli will participate in a Horizon 2020 research programme coordinated by the University of Bologna, which will involve 29 partners from 14 European countries. The project aims to develop microbiome-based applications for food production across several food chains and will see academics work with SMEs and other stakeholders to expedite the translational application of research discoveries. Dr Bulgarelli said: “One of the most pressing questions for this research area is how to rationally predict the outcome of plant- microbiome interactions under agriculture-relevant conditions. “The cross-Europe consortium has the expertise and resource to address this question and I look forward to validating, under these conditions, discoveries we made in the lab in the last few years.” The second award will see Dr Bulgarelli explore the causal genetic variants that underpin differential bacterial recruitment in the plant rhizosphere, the thin layer of soil surrounding plant roots. This basic research is relevant for sustainable crop production as knowing the plant genes shaping the microbiome will allow breeders to develop crops less dependent on chemical inputs and more resilient to climatic changes. “For many years we have known plants can shape the microbial communities surrounding their roots but the genes underpinning these interactions, in particular for crop plants, remain poorly understood,” he explained. “We recently discovered a portion of the genomes of barley, a global crop, modulating the assembly of several bacteria in the rhizosphere. In this research we will use state-of-the art experimental and computational approaches to characterise the plant genes present on this portion of the barley genome. “This proposal brings together seemingly unrelated research fields such as metagenomics and plant genetics to generate complex, multidimensional data. Our complementary expertise and skills put us in the ideal position to dissect such complex information.” Three postdoctoral positions and one technical assistant position will also be created at Dundee’s School of Life Sciences as a result of these awards. New grants for ground-breaking plant science research VIBES accolade for Hutton climate change adaptation research East Ayrshire farmer wins Nature of Scotland award The Hutton and IBH team with the Award trophy and certificate John Dalziel, centre right, receives his Nature of Scotland Food & Farming award February 2019 7 Comments? The partnership between the University of Dundee and the James Hutton Institute began in 2002, when plant scientists from the university first moved to what was then the Scottish Crop Research Institute and five years later, the Division of Plant Sciences was established and located at the James Hutton Institute in Invergowrie. This collaboration has catalysed interaction between research groups in Plant Sciences and the James Hutton Institute facilitated by co-location and is supported by joint Principal Investigator appointments and PhD students. This unique model of interaction has exploited the complementarity of the organisations and has so far generated considerable income in joint funding in areas of translation of basic to applied research.