Bioleg sy'n cyflawni Biology that delivers

IBERS IS The broad-based life sciences Institute of Aberystwyth University; 358 staff 1522 students IBERS IS A National Institute of Bioscience strategically funded by BBSRC IBERS IS A leading agri-innovation campus addressing the grand societal challenges of Food Security, Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation and Industrial Biotechnology & Renewable Energy.

Healthy Environment

Healthy Plants and

Animals

Healthy Business

Human health and wellbeing

IBERS Income Year 2016/17, Total £15,825,326

RCUK total Charity total

UK & EU Gov't Worldwide industry

Other

IBERS income profile £31.5M income / year ~£15M from research of which ~50% from industry

Translational Genomics

Bioinformatics Hub

Plant Growth Facilities

Advanced Microscopy

Animal House & Aquarium

IBERS facilities AIEC

Biorefining Centre

Future Food Centre

Analytical Chemistry

BEACON

Seed Biobank

Farming Connect Knowledge Hub

CIEL

Major KE activities

Farms and large animal facilities

Large animal facilities Dairy – circa 500 lactating cows and heifers Sheep – circa 1,200 commercial and pedigree animals Beef - circa 250 dairy beef animals Pasture - forage production for grazing and silage

Equine centre

Farm scale plots Land - circa 2,500 acres across 4 main sites

Aquaria

Analytical tools: Next generation sequencing, metabolomics, proteomics and spectral chemistry

880 units/2 growth chambers Various imaging modalities Functional March 2013 Commissioned Feb 2014

time time

~580 cores different ‘flavors’

Central: 2 x 150 Tb (mirrored) 60 Tb Backup 40 Tb scratch

Command

Web-based

Blast/Blast2Go MetaPred2CS Mascot

Bioinformatics at IBERS

Institute Director Mike Gooding Institute Director of Learning and Teaching Mike Rose

Institute Director of Research Alison Kingston - Smith

Director of Postgraduate Research Students Paul Shaw

Director of Postgraduate Taught Students Hazel Davey

Director of Student Experience Jo Hamilton

Director of Enterprise Joe Gallagher

Institute Manager Emyr Philips

Theme 1

Animal and Aquatic Sciences

Theme 2 Agricultural and Environmental

Sciences

Theme 3

Biology and Health

Theme Leader Pippa Moore

Theme Leader Iain Donnison

Theme Leader Rhys Thatcher

Director of

Research

Chris Creevey

Director of

Teaching

Roger Santer

Director of

Research

Dylan Gwynn - Jones

Director of

Teaching

Mike Rose

Director of

Research

Luis Mur

Director of

Teaching

Joe Ironside

IBERS

Animal & Aquatic Sciences Strategic drivers: Our research addresses the global challenges associated with

food security, sustainability and climate change.

Key areas of interest in the Theme include:

• Sustainable agriculture – upland and low

land

• Gut microbiology

• Parasitology & epidemiology of humans

and animals

• How animals adapt to their environment • Marine biology

Agriculture and Environment

Strategic drivers: Climate change mitigation and

adaptation; bioeconomy - sustainable/green growth

Key areas of interest in the Theme include: • Plant Genome & Chromosome Biology • Breeding Methodologies • Public Good Plant Breeding – Forages,

Oats & Legumes • Energy Crop Biology • Energy Crop Breeding & Modelling • Bioconversion & Biorefining • Ecology

Biology and Health

Research groups: • Diet, Exercise and Health • Microbiology • Molecular Biosystems

“Real world” Impact of IBERS Research

BEACON won a 2014 European Commission RegioStars Award

Biggar Report IBERS generated a total

economic benefit of £365 million Gross Value Added (GVA) for the UK economy

and supported almost 2,450 jobs

AU won the 2013 Times Higher Education award for its

Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology based

on IBERS work on High Sugar Grass

The BEACON biorefining centre • Develops products for industry

including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fuels and cosmetics.

• Led by Aberystwyth University in collaboration with partners at Bangor and Swansea Universities

• BEACON is backed with £10.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.

From plants to multiple products

Life Cycle Assessment / Financial & Carbon Accounting / Socio Economic Effects

Ryegrass

Miscanthus

Willow

Oats

Macroalgae

Chemicals

Fuels

Materials

Natural Products

Bio actives

BEACON Biorefining

working at a scale that enables the translation of

University research into industrial process

InnovOATS – “Breeding for healthier oats”

• UK leads oat innovation – linking composition to health impact and target breeding:

e.g. soluble fibre β-glucans, bioactive alkaloids

• ‘Functional’ oat products that impact on CVD and satiety and inflammation status • Increased consumer awareness, increased consumption and improved population health

Oats Breeding for Health

• Oat varieties bred by Aberystwyth are marketed

through a strategic alliance with Senova

• Genomic selection for higher yield, resilience, β-glucan

and other nutritional content

• Aber Mascani accounts ~50% of winter-oat seed sales: ~60,000ha

• Dwarfing genes research results in Balado variety: reducing lodging

and the need for application growth regulators

• Balado = highest yielding winter oat on current Recommended List

• Milling quality tested with the British Oat and Barley Millers

Association representing the major UK milling companies

From fundamental BBSRC research in genetics to new varieties

Oats Breeding for Health

InnovOATS – “Breeding for healthier oats”

• Aberystwyth oat varieties now ~65% of all the oats used in the UK

• Within the last 3 years: 54th IBERS variety now in National Listings

ABER varieties of High Sugar Grasses (HSGs)

Translation of primary research in animal feed science to genetic

improvement (increased energy supply to rumen), and commercial

product.

High quality marketing and business planning result in:

a. Increasing uptake by farmers

b. Adoption by Asda and Sainsbury’s for their supply chains’

sustainable intensification strategy

Strategic relationships for commercialisation

High Sugar Grasses

ABER varieties of Festulolium

Festulolium grass hybrids provide:

• Resilience to droughts, floods, high, and low temperatures • Large deep strong root systems • Improved soil structure • Reduced water, nutrient run-off • Opportunities for bioremediation and carbon capture

Delivering climate-smart grasslands for livestock agriculture

and for environmental safeguards

National Plant

Phenomics

Centre Festulolium field trial AberNiche

Festulolium deep-rooting grasses

Contact: Alison Kingston-Smith Director of Research IBERS ahk@aber.ac.uk idrstaff@aber.ac.uk

IBERS – Public Engagement Highlights for 2016

• Filming at IBERS - BBC Countryfile

• Filming at IBERS - BBC Programme presented by Kate Humble – Genetics within Welsh Dog Breeds

• Events British Science Week, Fascination of Plants, Royal Welsh Grasslands, Cereals, Dairy and Livestock show, Royal Welsh and Winter Fair

• Stakeholder visits, local teachers invited to our campuses to form educational bridges and to learn about plant breeding and food security. Primary and secondary.

• Science Café activities with speakers from IBERS, other departments and from external organisations.