Editorial

The implementation of these synergistic strategies aims to enhance biomass resources, derived from maize and teff, during future extreme drought conditions caused by climate change in both Europe and Africa. The developed products are anticipated to exhibit high transferability, contributing to the enhancement of drought resilience in diverse crops and countries. This is poised to strengthen the competitiveness of bioeconomy-based industries in both Europe and Africa, while concurrently improving yield stability with reduced irrigation requirements. To attain these objectives, BOOSTER's efforts are organized into five distinct Work Packages (WPs), each dedicated to a specific task that contributes to the overarching goal of the project:

WP1. Genome-wide identification of maize and teff CREs and genes associated with drought tolerance. WP1 is dedicated to developing a maize and teff map associated with drought tolerance. Maize and teff, globally significant as staple food, animal feed, and biofuel sources, face productivity challenges due to climate change, particularly affecting high-yield modern varieties. To address the increasing demands of a growing population amid constant or shrinking arable land, improvements in yields under adverse conditions like prolonged drought, high heat, and salinity are crucial. This work package aims to identify cis-elements that regulate responses to abiotic climate change stresses, including drought and heat. Novel sequencing technologies such as MOA-seq and FIND-CIS will be employed to quantitatively analyze transcription factor binding and gene expression in different maize and teff varieties. Combined with phenotypic data, this information will be used to bioengineer climate change-resilient maize and teff plants.

WP2. Comparative genomics of drought CREs and genes in three different grasses and validation of maize and teff drought CREs genome-wide data. The objectives of WP2 are to identify drought and desiccation cis-regulatory elements (CREs) in E. nindensis, discern similarities and differences in drought and desiccation responses among maize, teff, and E. nindensis, validate AS MOA/mRNA-seq results in both maize and teff; and evaluate the potential for transferring specific drought tolerance features from E. nindensis and teff to maize.

WP3. Development and characterization of new SWE and microbial biostimulants for improving maize and teff drought tolerance. The objectives of WP3 are to identify and isolate root-colonizing microorganisms from areas in Africa and Europe with a long history of drought to formulate novel and efficient microbial biostimulants, identify the best-performing seaweed extracts (SWEs) and microbial biostimulants for improving drought tolerance in maize and teff, and study the mode of action of the most effective SWEs and microbial biostimulants. To achieve these objectives, a multidisciplinary team from eight institutions in seven countries is conducting various activities, including the collection of microbial samples from drought-prone sites in Africa and Europe, the study of microbial and SWE biostimulants for their role in drought tolerance of maize and teff, and the mode of action of biostimulants on the drought tolerance of key cereal crops.

WP4. Production of the best performing SWE and microbial biostimulants and evaluation of their performance in improving maize and teff drought tolerance through field trials. The objective of WP4, led by BioAtlantis, is to develop seaweed-based and microbial-based biostimulant technologies that enhance drought tolerance in maize and teff. The effectiveness of these technologies will be demonstrated in drought-prone areas of Ethiopia and Europe, including the Mediterranean zone (the Po plain, Italy; Southern France; Southern Spain) and the South/Eastern zone (Bulgaria, Hungary). Building on their progress in WP3, BioAtlantis and ApheaBio will deliver formulations designed with specific bioactive compounds proven to efficiently prime drought tolerance in crops. The formulations will be made available to EIAR, CPSBB, CREA, and APBIO for field trial evaluation.

WP5. Project DEC to improve public understanding of biotechnology and bioeconomy in the context of the EU strategies, and implementation of the stakeholders’ involvement to achieve project outcomes and impacts. The main objective of WP5 is the project Dissemination, Exploitation, and Communication (DEC): to effectively communicate and disseminate project activities and results to the broader public and a wide range of stakeholders using innovative tools, ensuring results exploitation after the project concludes. Additionally, this work package assesses the environmental performance of the developed solutions, compares them with existing strategies, supports knowledge transfer to farmers, growers, breeders, and seed companies, facilitates the effective exploitation of results (including handling IP issues), and promotes the transferability of results, techniques, and products to other crops in Europe and developing countries.

WP6. Project management and quality control. WP6 aims to establish an efficient management structure to monitor the overall project implementation, ensure early identification of problems and enable timely contingency measures. This WP monitors overall scientific quality, leading to the achievement of project objectives and to the formulation of high-quality deliverables and conclusions, ensuring adequate communication flow among partners and with the European Commission, and efficient management of ethics issues.