The Kirkhouse Trust: Successes and Challenges in Twenty Years of Supporting Independent, Contemporary Grain Legume Breeding Projects in India and African Countries
Claudia Canales Holzeis,
Paul Gepts,
Robert Koebner,
Prem Narain Mathur,
Sonia Morgan,
María Muñoz-Amatriaín,
Travis A. Parker,
Edwin M. Southern,
Michael P. Timko
Affiliations
Claudia Canales Holzeis
The Kirkhouse Trust, Unit 6 Fenlock Court, Long Hanborough OX29 8LN, UK
Paul Gepts
Section of Crop & Ecosystem Sciences, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Robert Koebner
The Kirkhouse Trust, Unit 6 Fenlock Court, Long Hanborough OX29 8LN, UK
Prem Narain Mathur
The Kirkhouse Trust, Unit 6 Fenlock Court, Long Hanborough OX29 8LN, UK
Sonia Morgan
The Kirkhouse Trust, Unit 6 Fenlock Court, Long Hanborough OX29 8LN, UK
María Muñoz-Amatriaín
Departamento de Biología Molecular (Área Genética), Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
Travis A. Parker
Section of Crop & Ecosystem Sciences, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Edwin M. Southern
The Kirkhouse Trust, Unit 6 Fenlock Court, Long Hanborough OX29 8LN, UK
Michael P. Timko
Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
This manuscript reviews two decades of projects funded by the Kirkhouse Trust (KT), a charity registered in the UK. KT was established to improve the productivity of legume crops important in African countries and in India. KT’s requirements for support are: (1) the research must be conducted by national scientists in their home institution, either a publicly funded agricultural research institute or a university; (2) the projects need to include a molecular biology component, which to date has mostly comprised the use of molecular markers for the selection of one or more target traits in a crop improvement programme; (3) the projects funded are included in consortia, to foster the creation of scientific communities and the sharing of knowledge and breeding resources. This account relates to the key achievements and challenges, reflects on the lessons learned and outlines future research priorities.
