Coordinated by Claudie Pavis INRA (National Institute for Agronomic Research, France)

1. Coordinated by Claudie PavisINRA (National Institute for Agronomic Research, France) SafePGR: Towards Safer Plant Genetic Resources through improved viral diagnostics NET-BIOME FINAL CONFERENCE 15 February 2012, Paris

2. 1- INRA Guadeloupe (UR ASTRO) 2- Cirad Guadeloupe (TGU AGAP) 3- Cirad Montpellier (UMR BGPI) 4- Cirad La Réunion (UMR PVBMT) 5- INRA Bordeaux (UMR BFP) 6- Biotechnology Centre Azores (University) 7- ISOPlexis Gene Bank Madeira (University) 1) Partner’s consortium, budget and agenda

3. 1- Inra Guadeloupe (UR ASTRO) 2- Cirad Guadeloupe (TGU AGAP) 3- Cirad Montpellier (UMR BGPI) 4- Cirad La Réunion (UMR PVBMT) 5- Inra Bordeaux (UMR BFP) 6- Biotechnology Centre Azores (University) 7- ISOPlexis Gene Bank Madeira (University) 91 k€ 53 k€ 180 k€ 33 k€ 100 k€ 51 k€ 45 k€ Total budget: 1 450 k€ - Requested contribution: 553 k€ 1) Partner’s consortium, budget and agenda Project’s duration: 3 years - March 2012 to February 2015

4. Develop reliable and portabletools for detecting viruses conserved in tropical and subtropical germplasm collections • Assay the viral biodiversity present within crops that are critical to the agriculture of Guadeloupe, Réunion, Azores and Madeira • Develop regional expertise in the field of viral diagnosis • Facilitatesanitation procedures within biological ressource centres (BRCs) • Secure thedissemination of virus-free germplasm to extension services (within and between European overseas territories) 2) The five goals of the SafePGR project

5. 3) Objectives • Improve knowledge on the diversity of viruses infecting crops targeted by the project : banana, garlic, sugarcane, sweet potato, vanilla and yam • Develop optimized and portable diagnosticmethods for the routine detection of viruses in these 6 crops • Develop bioinformatics tools available for all the partners of the project

6. 3) Research questions • What is the molecular diversity of reported (« already-known ») viruses that are present in the main crops conserved in BRCs in Azores, Guadeloupe, Madeira and Réunion? • What is the virome (the genomes of all the – known and unknown - viruses that inhabit a particular organism) of plants conserved in BRCs? • Are metagenomics approaches efficient and portable for improved viral diagnostic? • Conversely, are conventional diagnostic methods best suited to cover the molecular diversity of known virus species infecting crops targeted by the project? • What are the global and local population structures of the viruses infecting tropical conserved crops? Could we decipher routes of transmissions of these viruses?

7. 4) Expected results • Broad inventory of inter and intraspecific viral diversity in crops targeted by the project • Capacity-building in modern diagnostic tools for virology labs of Guadeloupe, Azores, Madeira and La Réunion • Effectiveness of quarantine and sanitation procedures • Safer germplasm movement from BRCs by preventing the introduction and spread of viral diseases

8. 4) Perspectives for development • Enhancement of the management of germplasm collections through the ability of BRCs to carry out: • reliable viral diagnostic • safer germplasm movement • Increased diversity within cropping systems: •  Virus-free germplasm is necessary to breeding programmes, which aim at developping improved varieties adapted to changing biotic, climatic and socio-economic contexts

9. Thank you for your attention!