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Meet the WISH-ROOTS Consortium University of Bologna, Italy Roberto Tuberosa Current Position : Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy Education : ​PhD in Plant Breeding, University of Minnesota, USA Hobbies : Photography, Hiking, Cooking Bio : My original interest was in Crop Physiology, particularly under drought stress. Following the launch of our lab on cereal genomics in mid ‘90s, we focused mainly on QTL controlling root system architecture (RSA) and their effects on yield in maize, durum wheat and barley. Recently, we have started looking for QTL that regulate the interaction of the soil microbiome and the durum wheat root in he rhizosphere. We have collaboration with a number of foreign colleagues interested in RSA in cereals. Role : My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is to collaborate with my colleagues involved in the project. Silvio Salvi Current Position : Full Professor in Plant Genetics, University of Bologna, Italy Education : ​Phd in Cellular and Molecular Biotecnology, University of Bologna Hobbies : Guitar player, wild flora exploration Bio : Staff Research Scientist at Unibo since 2003 working on abiotic stress and genetics of ABA accumulation. From 2007 to 2010 PI at FEM, San Michele all’Adige (Trento) head of apple molecular genetics. Since 2021 is Full Professor at the University of Bologna, working on root and shoot/inflorescence development. Role : My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is to elucidate the role of genetic variation in wheat root morpho-physiological traits on soil health Marco Maccaferri Current Position : Associate Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy Education : PhD in Seed Science and Technology, University of Tourin Hobbies : Mountain Hiking, fishing, reading, drawing and painting Bio : I graduated at UNIBO in crop physiology on maize response to drought and then I started to work in the molecular lab on tomato and cereals. For my PhD I characterized a worldwide based durum wheat panel on molecular, morphological and genealogical data. In my postdoc activity I focused on wheat genetics and genomics and visited NIAB, CIMMYT and UC Davis. In the last ten years I contributed to develop resources for dissecting the genetics of agronomically important traits in durum wheat including the golden-standard durum wheat genome sequence and the Global Durum Wheat Resource Role : My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is to collaborate with my colleagues involved in the project particularly for the durum wheat characterization. Marco Bittelli Current Position : Associate Professor of Soil and Environmental Physics, University of Bologna, Italy. Education : ​PhD in Soil Physics, 2001, Washington State University, USA. Hobbies : Writing and playing music, hiking in the mountains. Bio : I work on measurement and modelling of soil-plant physical processes and mass-energy balance in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Applications range from irrigation management, quantification of evapotranspiration, soil energy budget for climate studies and others. Role : My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is to supervise and conduct the measurements of soil physical-chemical properties in the field trials at the Cadriano experimental station in Bologna, Italy. Serena Rosignoli Current Position : Research Fellow and PhD Student, University of Bologna, Italy. Education : ​MSc Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna; BSc Computer Science, University of Ferrara, Italy. Hobbies : Walking with my dogs, Gardening, Working out. Bio : I work as a crop geneticist with a focus on root architecture traits that can benefit barley and wheat in stress conditions. Role : My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is the phenotyping of above and below ground portions of wheat plants in field trials at the Cadriano experimental station in Bologna, Italy and data analysis. Bartolo Giuseppe Dimattia Current Position : Research Assistant, University of Bologna, Italy. Education : ​MSc Agricultural Science and Technology, University of Bologna, Italy Hobbies : Calisthenics, playing guitar, D&D Bio : The subject of radical architecture fascinates me. I hope to contribute to the development of varieties that are more suitable for sustainable agriculture by studying soil-root interaction. Role : My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is the exploration of soil structure and root achitectonic properties using X-ray tomography,

WISH -ROOTS Making soil health a breeding target WISH-ROOTS: Wheat Roots in Soil Health The goal of WISH-ROOTS is to enhance the potential beneficial effects of wheat cultivation on soil health through the identification of root traits that can improve soil structure and optimize nitrogen (N) cycling. More information News Subscribe to our Newsletters The WISH-ROOTS project has kicked off with a pilot trial at John Innes Centre, UK. The propagation of twenty bread and durum wheat landraces will provide the material for the field trials over the next two springs. ​ Video: Introduction of the WISH-ROOTS at the Annual Science Day - EJP Soil general meeting 2022 . Credit: M. Hernandez-Soriano Explore our wheat lines News archive Follow our project in social media WISH-ROOTS: Wheat Roots in Soil Health Funding : EJP Soil, BBSRC, Mipaaf, BMBF, FWO, NZAGRC Call : Towards Healthy, Resilient and Sustainable Agricultural Soils Topic : Site-specific or landscape-scale approaches to improve sustainability, resilience, health, and productivity of soils Grant agreement : Coordinator : John Innes Centre, UK Duration : April 2022 to March 2025 Recent and upcoming events 1 min WISH-ROOTS milestone - seeds ready to ship! 1 min Ready to harvest - pilot trial 2022 1 min WISH-ROOTS at the 22th World Congress in Soil Science - Glasgow22 See More

Field phenotyping of bread and durum wheat varieties for traits linked to soil structure and nitrogen cycling We will run field trials in Belgium, China, Germany, Italy, South Africa and UK ​ ​ The overarching aim is to investigate beneficial impacts of traits associated with wheat root architecture and root exudates on target markers of soil health, namely: Physical properties: soil aggregation, pore structure, and water retention Soil nitrogen (N) fertility and supply: N cycling and balanced N supply for plant uptake. ​ A total of 20 wheat accessions will be tested in each field trial. Locally adapted elite cultivars (eg. current most popularly grown cultivars for each location) will be grown as check for bread and durum wheat. ​ The sampling and analysis strategy will be optimized to facilitate traceability and data comparison across the different partners involved. Soil features and environmental conditions will be monitored throughout the growing cycles in all experiments following protocols provided and optimized by the partners. Field trials

Project aims of WISH-ROOTS - Tuning the wheat root microbiome to improve soil health and optimize rhizosphere nitrogen cycling and availability ​ The WISH-ROOTS concept, improvement of soil health by wheat root traits, is driven by the hypothesis that root morphological and functional traits in wheat landraces can preserve and improve target soil health markers. These beneficial traits, likely lost through wheat domestication, can be introduced in modern wheat cultivars and will be the base of an innovative strategy to restore and preserve agricultural soils. ​ The WISH-ROOTS aims to provide genetic resources and predictive models to breeders and other stakeholders for the introduction of the beneficial root traits in wheat production.

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