AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
Chairs:
Frank Hartung, JKI, DE, Ralf Wilhelm, JKI, DE, Jens Sundstrom, SLU, SE, Alan Schulman, LUKE, FI, Odd-Arne Rognli, NMBU, NO
Activities:
This WG considers how the science that our members are producing may have an impact on agriculture. Agriculture will have to meet important demands in the near future. The production of sufficient, safe and healthy food for an increasing human population is a huge challenge. But this production also has to meet the need for a reduced impact of agriculture in a changing environment.
Everyone working in plant biology is aware of the significant advances in our knowledge of plant development, interactions of plants with other organisms — particularly pathogens, and the control of metabolic pathways. New methodologies are being developed to study plants both at molecular and cellular levels and as whole organisms or populations in the field. We are convinced that these methods and the information that we are obtaining from them will have, sooner or later, significant effects on agriculture. Agriculture has always been based on the best technologies available at a given moment. Plants were among the first species selected for the studies that led to the birth of genetics and during the last century plant breeding provided the basis for the present levels of food production. A number of technologies are already having an impact in plant breeding:
- Molecular markers are already being used routinely for many crop species by public and private breeders.
- Sequences of the main cultivated plants are becoming available and resequencing of varieties is being used to obtain collections of polymorphic sequences that allow massive genotyping and the discovery and use of complex genetic characters.
- Knowledge of pathways that control metabolism and development and generate resistance to pathogens is providing genes that may be useful to produce new variability through transformation.
- Methods for phenotyping are also being developed based on image analysis. They may become useful to follow the state of crops in the field helping farmers to take decisions.
The recent progress in genome editing allows the efficient and precise modification of genes in almost all plant species.
By introducing the genetic information for new metabolic pathways into nuclear and chloroplast genomes plants can be explored as production platform for a wide range of new products.
Next to this, increasing awareness and providing an actual overview and access to Risk Assessment (RA) and Regulatory Issues (RI) of new agricultural technologies, including genetic engineering and genome editing, also belongs to the activities of the WoGr. RA and RI influence the daily work and lives of researchers involved in developing and exploring new biotechnologies. The group aims to address this significant area, directly related to research and placing on the market. Main tasks arez to: increase awareness of RA and RI amongst EPSO members, provide an actual overview on and access to RA and RI documents for EPSO members, and flag up necessary actions.
Meetings:
This WG meets up to three times a year. Having met online on 26 April and 11 September, the next meeting will be held online on 27 November – please contact the WG Chairs if you are interested in attending. The current issues are: positions on Crop Genetic Improvement Technologies, New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBT), the implementation of the Nagoya protocol at national level, advice on Synthetic Biology, plant breeders rights and patent rights. The group continues to provide science advice to policy on NPBTs to the European Commission and via its members to national level.
EPSO news developed by this WG:
EPSO submission to the European Commission’s consultation on the roadmap regarding the legislation for plants produced by novel genomic techniques (NGTs)
EPSO welcomes the initiative taken by the European Commission to adjust the regulation on NGT and promote NGT for plant breeding in the European Union (EU). Taking into account recent and ongoing research activities, EPSO would like to provide the following feedback...
Genome editing – Improving legislation and starting flagships to better address climate, environmental, food and health challenges
On 14 May 2021 EPSO member-scientists and policy makers from sixteen countries across Europe held the fourth open-minded, informal meeting to assess the situation for research and development on New Plant Breeding Technologies (NPBTs) after the ruling of the ECJ in...
DivSeek launched a new Strategy to improve the Generation and Sharing of Information about Global Plant Genetic Resources
The Strategic Plan outlined for 2021-2026 will help accelerate access to and benefit sharing from these resources that include seed and other plant collections, along with provenance and characterization data, so they can be used for the sustainable production of...
Relevant news from other sources:
The information requested could not be found.
Members:
Eva-Mari Aro, Univ. Turku, FI
Pierre Barret, INRAE, FR
Sylvain Bischof, UZH, CH
Gintaras Brazauskas, LAMMC, LT
Ralph Bock, MPIMP Golm, DE
Teodoro Cardi, CNR, IT
Josep Casacuberta, CSIC-CRAG, ES
Aldo Ceriotti, CNR, IT
Pedro Crevillen CBGP (UPM-INIA/CSIC), ES
Pilar Cubas, CSIC, ES
René Custers, VIB, BE
Roberto Defez, CNR, IT
Theresa Fitzpatrick, UNIGE, CH
Jens Freitag, IPK, DE
Emanuele Frontoni, UniPM, Ancona, IT
Jordi Garcia Mas, CRAG, ES
Wilhelm Gruissem, ETH Zurich, CH
Emmanuel Guiderdoni, CIRAD, FR
Claire Halpin, Hutton, UK
Frank Hartung, JKI, DE
Marie-Theres Hauser, BoKu, AT
Ingo Hein, Hutton, UK
Kelli Houston, Hutton, UK
Thomas Jacobs, VIB, BE
Huw Jones, IBERS UK
Jonathan Jones, TSL, UK
Sophien Kamoun, TSL, UK
Margit Laimer, BoKu, AT
Antonio Leyva, CNB-CSIC, ES
Fiorella Lo Schiavo , Univ. Padova, IT
Tiago Lourenço, ITQB, PT
Tjasa Lukan, NIB, SI
Doris Lucyshyn, BoKu, AT
Elspeth MacRae, former Scion, NZ
Devang Mehta, KU Leuven, BE
Karin Metzlaff, EPSO
Heiko Mibus-Schoppe, Univ. Geisenheim, DE
Michele Morgante, Univ. Udine, IT
Richard Newcomb, PFR, NZ
Moritz Nowack, VIB, BE
Vitantonio Pantaleo, CNR, IT
Roberto Papa, UNIVPM, IT
Katia Petroni, Univ. Milano .IT
Pere Puigdomenech, CRAG, ES
Francesco Paolocci, CNR, IT
Anneli Ritala-Nurmi, VTT, FI
Odd Arne Rognli , NMBU, NO
Joerg Romeis, Agroscope, CH
Nelson Saibo, ITQB, PT
Cecilia Sarmiento, Univ. Talin, EE
Helga Schinkel, Fraunhofer IME, DE
Andrea Schubert, Univ. Studi Torino, IT
Alan Schulman, LUKE, FI
Uli Schurr, Jülich, DE
George Skaracis, Univ. Agricultural Athens, GR
Sjef Smeekens, Univ. Ultrecht, NL
Rene Smulders, WUR, NL
Thorben Sprink, JKI, DE
Darja Stanič, NIB, SI
Nils Stein, IPK, DE
Eva Stoger, BoKu, AT
Jens Sundstroem, SLU, SE
Tage Thorstensen, NIBIO, NO
Tomas Vanek, CAS, CZ
Richard Visser, WUR, NL
Alessandro Vitale, CNR, IT
Nicolaus von Wiren, IPK, DE
Ralf Wilhelm, JKI, DE
Li-Hua Zhu, SLU Alnarp, SE
Observers:
Sandra Bendiscioli, EMBO, DE
Malcolm Bennett, Univ. Nottingham, UK
Henrik Brinch-Pedersen, Univ. Aarhus, DK
Matthias Fladung, Thuenen Inst, DE
Michel Garfinkel,
Johnathan Napier, Rothamsted, UK
Solveig Krogh Christiansen, Univ. Copenhagen, DK