devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
RCUK-CIAT Newton Fund: Exploiting biodiversity in Brachiaria/Panicum tropical forage grasses using genetics to improve livelihoods and sustainability The overall objective is economic development in Colombia by focused, science-based exploitation of biodiversity to develop new varieties of tropical forage grasses (Brachiaria and Panicum species and hybrids) to meet needs of small and medium scale farmers, and defined goals of environmental sustainability. The following objectives will generate underpinning knowledge for this aim:   - Identify ploidy of accessions to identify appropriate parents for breeding at diploid and polyploid levels across the germplasm collection for Brachiaria;  development of genome-specific probes from NGS data to identify the genomic composition of polyploids and hybrids - Identification of candidate genes implicated in determining forage quality (eg digestibility, lipid content to reduce enteric methane emissions) leading to an atlas of the allelic diversity; Gain improved knowledge of apomixis, its genes and seed production for exploitation in breeding -              RNA-seq from 30 to 40 accessions of both genera to prioritize candidate genes for breeding, building towards a pan-genome defining variation across the genera. Analyse RNA-seq data for evidence of genome interactions and differential gene expression in hybrids - Define pull from improvements in environmental and sustainability requirements (GHG, soils/erosion, water, nutrient cycling) from forage crops; Define economic pull for defined forage grass improved characters from farmers and breeders in Colombia; Measure the economic value of traits and market sizes for improved Brachiaria seed; define measures for environmental benefits.  - Make RNAi and CRISPR-CAS9 constructs designed to modify candidate genes to improve forage quality - Plan second and third years programme based on results - Outputs and capacity building: Training of CIAT staff and students in UK to raise technical skills and experience; allow UK participants to gain international experience at CIAT; Prepare publications, blogs, website for farmers, policy makers, public, hold a workshop to disseminate results. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Using genomics to trace Salmonella transmission and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the poultry and swine food chains in the Philippines Salmonellosis, caused by Salmonella spp., is among the most commonly reported foodborne diseases globally, and has a high health and economic burden in both animals and humans. Salmonella enterica is a primary cause of cases and outbreaks of diarrhoea worldwide, including in the Philippines. While numerous potential methods of transmission exist, commercial chicken and pig meat have been recognised as crucial food vehicles for S. enterica. The forecasted increase in consumption and utilisation of swine and poultry products in the Philippines in the next 10 years to over 3 million metric tonnes per annum, increases the likelihood for exposure to the bacterium.  Previous studies from our Philippine team have shown that S. enterica is circulating in the chicken and pig food chains in Metropolitan Manila, and is a likely major and increasing cause of food poisoning. Notably, treatment options for salmonellosis are decreasing as the bacteria increase in their resistance to antimicrobial drugs. Due to frequent use of antibiotics, chickens and pigs are now realized as potential risks in disseminating drug-resistant S. enterica, with multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains now reported to be present in the Philippines.  For this study, we propose to compare at the genetic level of past and present samples of S. enterica across live animal and processed meat domains in the chicken and pig food chains in Metropolitan Manilla. We will perform whole genome sequencing (WGS) of historical and prospectively collected S. enterica bacteria isolated from these samples. WGS technology has become a rapid and affordable tool that is revolutionising the fields of genetics, microbiology, and ecology, as well as public health surveillance and response, including animal health. WGS analysis has enabled new and often unpredicted routes to disease by defining resistance genotypes and their historical generation, predicting resistance phenotypes and identifying similar isolate genomes that are part of a transmission chains. The resulting genomic variation will increase our understanding of transmission and drug resistance to permit more effective interventions. These genomic data will be correlated with laboratory determined virulence and drug resistance outcomes and other collected meta data to enable an important contribution in disease control and prevention, particularly in the design of diagnostics and interventions for Salmonellosis across the food domains (e.g. farms, markets). The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Antimicrobial resistance in Brazilian pig and poultry production and its contribution to the success of Salmonella serotypes Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of bacteria found in livestock represent a grave threat to the health of both animals and humans; resistant infections in livestock also have a significant economic impact. Salmonella enterica is one of the most important bacterial pathogens in pigs and poultry, which are thought to be two of the major reservoirs for human infections. Brazil is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of pig and chicken meat, and these industries are significant contributors to the country's economy. Change in these production systems over the last 10 years, including massive intensification and introduction of a Salmonella Enteritidis vaccine in poultry, have led to dramatic shifts in the Salmonella serotype prevalence observed from pigs and poultry in Brazil. These shifts are probably driven by antimicrobial use and resistance, but this issue has not been fully investigated.   The research outlined in our proposal will investigate the diversity and evolution of AMR determinants in Salmonella isolated from Brazilian pigs and poultry over the last 10 years. We will use whole genome sequencing, and state-of-the-art long read sequencing, combined with molecular biology and epidemiology to explore the role of AMR in the success of different Salmonella serotypes in these populations. This proposal represents a new collaboration between Dr Mather at Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) in the UK, and Dr Moreno at the University of São Paulo (USP), along with collaborators Dr Terezinha Knöbl and Dr Luisa Moreno at USP. This research will tackle the huge health and economic threat posed by AMR to Brazilian livestock species, which will help identify where suitable control strategies could be applied most effectively. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
14CONFAP UNDERSTANDING CELL WALL STRUCTURE AND HYDROLYSIS OF TWO LEADING C4 BIOENERGY CROPS TO IMPROVE SECOND GENERATION BIOETHANOL PRODUCTION The transition from first-generation (1G) bioethanol to a more productive and sustainable bioeconomy based on plant biomass is essential for Brazil to remain at the forefront in clean energy production and to strengthen security of food and energy supplies, create jobs, and mitigate climate change. A key challenge associated with the transition from 1G to second-generation (2G) biofuels is the difficulty to release sugars from cell walls to produce bioethanol with economic viability. Understanding the factors that govern recalcitrance and engineering cell wall architectures and hydrolytic enzymes for enhanced sugar release is crucial for the commercial exploitation of lignocellulosic feedstocks and realization of the bio-economy concept. Another important aspect is the development of biomass crops that maintain biomass productivity and quality under water-scarce environments unsuited for growing food crops. This aspect is even more important in a scenario of predicted climate change, where we need to quickly adapt crops to challenging environmental conditions. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Xanthomonas citri subsp citri citrus tree cankers in Sao Paulo : molecular epidemiology and assessment of lytic bacteriophage as biocontrol agents Asiatic Citrus Canker (ACC) is a serious, untreatable infection of citrus trees that threatens sweet orange production in the state of Sao Paulo - a key industry economically.   ACC is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri. Infection with this organism necessitates removal and destruction of infected trees and prevention measures typically rely on the use of spraying with environmentally harmful copper bactericides. In this project we will examine the current genetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of X. citri from infected plants in Sao Paulo using whole genome sequencing. This will allow us to study how the pathogen is spreading in the current endemic situation - following legislative changes that ceased control efforts and now allow the presence of the bacterium in the orchards. This information will give us important new knowledge regarding the species population biology.   In this project we will also isolate and characterize X. citri specific viruses (known as bacteriophage). Bacteriophages are proposed as an alternative to antibiotics in human health and they are currently used in the food industry eg for controlling Listeria contamination in cheese production. They are also used in the control of bacterial infections in tomato and pepper crops in the United States. We will isolate and characterize a large collection of bacteriophage from infected plant material to assess their suitability for use in biocontrol of ACC. This initial pump-priming proposal will be developed in years two and three to include in vitro infection studies in greenhouse using bacteriophages as treatments or protective agents. We will also investigate bacteriophage host-binding structures as possible species-specific ligands for delivery of antimicrobial compounds. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Evaluating Costs and Benefits of Prophylactic Health Products and Novel Alternatives on Smallholder Aquaculture Farmers In Asia and Africa (IMAQulate) Rapidly growing demand for seafood products for domestic and export markets is driving intensification of aquaculture sectors dominated by small-holders in much of Asia. Ensuring effective health management has become the single most important challenge for sustainable intensification of the smallholder sector just as restrictions on antibiotic use are being imposed. Farmers are increasingly dependent on a proliferating range of prophylactic products (including pre and probiotics), often of uncertain provenance & efficacy. Furthermore, the emergent markets for these products lack appropriate regulatory frameworks and the economic burden of unjustified claims is likely to fall most heavily on small-holders. An independent cost-benefit assessment of the efficacy, costs and benefits of such products is urgently required. Working across a range of major commodity farmed species and system types, the project will also assess the potential for novel low-cost alternatives to contribute to improved animal health and profitability of intensified smallholder operations. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Advancing sustainable forage-based livestock production systems in Colombia (CoForLife) This project aims to improve cattle productivity on Colombian pasture-based farms by using a multidisciplinary approach that will link forage productivity and quality to animal productivity and farmer attitudes and practice.  It will use a combination of remote sensing of forage production and animal behaviour together with measurements of nutrient utilisation and system losses to determine ways of improving the efficiency of animal growth and help reduce the environmental burden of cattle production.  This collaborative project brings together a range of expertise from the UK and Colombia to address ways to increase the uptake of improved forage crops for dairy and beef production. Remote sensing (using drones and satellite data) will be used to assess plant growth and nutritional composition, providing spatially explicit data on when, where, and how nutritious the forages are. This will be combined with new ensiling techniques to conserve forages at times of good growth for use in times of low feed availability (i.e. the dry season). Animal behaviour and digestive physiology will be monitored on farms to determine cattle use of feed resources in relation to their growth characteristics and linked to the remote sensing data. Improved efficiency of use of captured carbon and nitrogen for productive purposes is balanced with potential pollutant outputs, and the fate of excreted nitrogen in soils will be determined to investigate the effects of forage plants on efficiency of nitrogen recycling (and losses) from the production system. The economics of the use of novel forage resources will be modelled to investigate the potential benefits to farmers of planting new grazing pastures, and to help them take investment decisions under changing climate conditions.  Farmer behaviours in the use of improved forage resources and methods on their farms will be studied to analyse their motivations and potential barriers to the implementation of more efficient farming practices. Engagement with farming communities is an important element of this work, because their knowledge and understanding is vital to successful design, implementation and dissemination of the project work and outputs. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Enhanced Rice quality for Health (EnRicH) Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world's population. However, rice is largely consumed as polished grain (white rice) and its consumption, as part of the adoption of a Western diet and increasingly sedentary life style, is associated with increased risk of a range of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardio-vascular disease and forms of cancer. Hence it is important to consider the impact of rice on nutrition and health as well as traditional quality attributes. Consequently, the two most important targets for quality improvement of polished white rice are to reduce the rate of digestion in the human gastrointestinal tract (through starch structure manipulation and increasing the percentage of resistant starch) and increase the content of dietary fibre while retaining high yield and good cooking and sensory properties. The research project will carry out detailed analyses of grain composition of a wide range of rice lines to identify lines with increased health benefits combined with good consumer acceptability. Cutting-edge genetics and bioinformatics will then be used to identify molecular markers that can be used to select for quality traits by breeders.  The improved lines and markers will then be delivered to national and international rice breeding programmes to allow them to develop new commercial varieties. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Development of beneficial microbiome communities to increase the resistance against abiotic stress in Carica papaya and Capsicum annuum Mexico, with Colima State as main producer, is the main exporter of Carica papaya and Capsicum annuum. Abiotic stress such as drought and heat are the major cause of fruit losses for both crops, a situation predicted to worsen under the prospect of changing climates. Enhancing crop productivity under changing climates is therefore of outermost importance to increase crop resilience against abiotic stresses. This requires new strategies that are more efficient and sustainable in protecting Carica papaya and Capsicum annuum against a broad range of abiotic stresses.  In nature, plants interact with complex microbial communities, known as microbiomes. Microbiomes include a broad spectrum of beneficial symbionts exhibiting a diversity of beneficial activities that can protect plants against environmental stresses. In fact, symbiont-mediated stress protection enabled plants to colonise land in the changing climates of the Mid-Palaeozoic era more than 400 million years ago. Ever since symbionts have been vital for stress resilience of plants in nature and developed protection mechanisms in co-evolution with plants. However, we just start to understand the true potential of microbiome members and their diverse activities in improving abiotic stress resilience in plants. It is known that plants and soil contribute to the composition of microbial communities, and that the root microbiota acts to extend the capacity of plants to deal with stress. In previous proof of concept experiments, we identified microbes from both crops with stress-protecting activities. In this project, we want to exploit the bioprotective potential of microbiomes of Carica papaya and Capsicum annuum as a currently untapped resource that can equip us with sustainable and highly effective stress resilience agents. By conducting a systematic approach, we will determine the composition of different microbiomes associated with Carica papaya and Capsicum annuum. Using a combination of different Carica papaya and Capsicum annuum varieties and abiotic stress conditions we will generate a comprehensive microbe culture collection. This collection will build a resource for determining the diverse bio-protecting activities of microbiome members using a series of defined biochemical and functional assays. In collaboration with industry partners we will develop solutions to apply our findings as a strategy to sustainably enhance abiotic stress resilience in Carica papaya and Capsicum annuum. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Newton Bhabha Industrial Waste: Integrated biorefinery for converting paper mill waste into chemical wealth (waste-2-wealth) India is the fastest growing paper market in the world (6% per annum; by 2024-25 Indian demand is projected to increase to 23.50 million MT). However, alongside this trend is the huge amount of industrial waste, especially lignocellulosic material that accumulates as part of this expanding industry. This proposal addresses a number of urgent problems relevant to India, including a) a strengthening of the countries economic position through the emerging bioeconomy, b) the need to tackle major and growing environmental waste management challenges and c) addressing countrywide poverty prevalence through new employment. Our team will develop an innovative biorefinery and commercial strategy to establish a demonstrator platform for the sustainable conversion of paper mill waste into high value chemicals. This platform will be used to drive sustainable expansion through commercial inward investment. This technology will lead to reduction in industrial waste/pollution, and improve value recovery from waste in the paper and pulp industry sector. The proposal will strengthen India's economic position, address major waste challenges and tackle rural poverty. The biorefinery is built from partner expertise in i) valorisation of waste feedstock (India); ii) use of bioengineered strains for fragrance production at industrial levels, and feedstock utilisation (UK); iii) commercial expertise in this market sector (UK/India). The innovation is found in unifying existing technologies to form the biorefinery concept, enabling distributed, green, scalable and sustainable manufacture of chemicals from major paper mill waste streams. The biorefinery will drive inward investment to strengthen India's economic position, address major waste challenges and tackle poverty prevalence through job creation. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
14CONFAP: Impact and biological control of a new invasive global crop pest in Brazil Invasive species pose a serious threat to native ecosystems, food security and income generation. The Old World cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is a global crop pest, causing >US$2 billion of damage annually. Recently, it was found that this voracious pest had finally arrived in Brazil and is now established across the country. The aims of this partnership are: - To convene a workshop of stakeholders to undertake a risk assessment of the potential impact of bollworm spread in Brazil. - To collect field samples of bollworms for analysis of genetic diversity, beneficial microbes and natural enemies. - To assess the potential for microbial symbionts to modulate biopesticide efficacy.  - To determine the role of phenotypic plasticity in modulating susceptibility to biopesticides. The longer-term goal is to establish a consortium of stakeholders equipped to identify, monitor and control the spread of this invasive species and to minimize its environmental impact. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.