As climate change brings more frequent heatwaves and droughts, scientists are looking for crops that can cope with tougher growing conditions. New research highlights camelina (Camelina sativa), a traditional oilseed crop used for food, animal feed, and biofuels, as a promising example of how plants can adapt – and how that knowledge could help future…
We are excited to announce the public release of the Plant Adaptation Hub, one of the main outcomes of the UNTWIST project. This web-based platform is designed to support scientists, farmers, and the wider public in exploring, researching, and applying knowledge about Camelina sativa. The Hub brings together advanced tools, curated data, and interactive visualizations,…
We are thrilled to announce that the UNTWIST project has recently published a new research article titled: “Heat stress resistance in Camelina sativa: effects on morphology, physiology, yield, and seed quality.” This study, conducted in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, Italy, and Rothamsted…
The UNTWIST project is proud to announce the publication of a new research article: “Consumer preferences for Camelina oil: impact of sensory perceptions and information disclosure on acceptance of an unfamiliar oil coming from a minor crop.” This study investigates how French consumers perceive camelina oil, a traditional but relatively unknown oil derived from a…
The UNTWIST project is proud to announce the publication of a new peer-reviewed scientific article titled “Assessing different physiological, seed yield and quality responses of camelina lines to drought”, authored by researchers including Barbara Alberghini, Miriana Vicino, Federica Zanetti, Andrea Monti, Walter Zegada-Lizarazu from the University of Bolonia (IT), and Susana Silvestre, Richard Haslam, from…
Lipids mitigate the impact of stress and are important for seed oil yield and quality. The effects of drought on camelina lipid metabolism were investigated in a controlled environment trial at the Bologna University experimental farm. Four camelina lines, selected from a larger collection based on their diverse response to drought stress, were investigated for…
Building upon the outcomes of the UNTWIST field trials as well as genomic and metabolomic analyses with 54 camelina genotypes, four focus lines were selected to be tested in a drought stress trial at the experimental farm of the University of Bologna (UNIBO). The trial was performed using lysimeters to allow precise control of soil…
The genomes of the UNTWIST focus lines have been sequenced using Oxford Nanopore long read sequencing technology. These new chromosome-scale genome assemblies are of reference-level quality. The genome size of the camelina lines range from 640 to 650 Mb. A comprehensive pipeline was used for genome annotation, integrating both ab-initio and evidence-based approaches, predicting 98,808 to 102,312…
UNTWIST has generated a wealth of data from the UNTWIST camelina diversity panel, which includes cultivars, breeding lines and landraces from different geographical regions. Genome sequencing of the 54 genotypes showed that the UNTWIST core collection represents the known genetic diversity of camelina. Field trials in Spain, Italy, France, and UK characterized the camelina diversity…
In 2022 and 2023, UNIBO conducted a two-year field trial aimed at evaluating the response of the four focus lines of camelina, selected from the UNTWIST core collection to two sowing times. Small plots at the experimental farm of the University of Bologna (Italy) were sown both at optimal and stressful sowing times, corresponding respectively…
In spring 2022, UNIBO set up a semi-controlled environment trial to test the response to the drought of the four Focus Lines selected from the UNTWIST core collection. UNT4, UNT18, UNT21, and UNT46 were sown in lysimeters located at the experimental farm of the University of Bologna, Italy. Each lysimeter contained 1 m3 of soil…
The four camelina focus lines selected from the UNTWIST core collection are now being analysed in open field conditions in France, Italy, Spain and the UK. In Spain, the focus lines are planted between November and December at the experimental farm Entresierras, in Ciudad Real. Various physiological parameters including SPAD, gas exchange and chlorophyll a…
