US-EC Taskforce on Biotechnology Research The future of plant biotechnology

Website: ec.europa.eu/research/biotechnology/ec-us/workshop_0605_en.html




To find similar Items, click on a keyword below:
Publications : Biotechnology : Plant Genetics



Future of Plant Biotechnology

This 14 page full colour brochure resulted from the above meeting held in June 2005, Arlington, USA, abstracts of which are avaialble as a PDF. For copies of the printed brochure contact: rtd-food@ec.europa.eu.

Knowledge of plant science is expanding at an ever-accelerating pace as the result of the genomics revolution. It is now five years since the Arabidopsis genome was sequenced and we are halfway into the National Science Foundation's (USA) '2010 Project: to determine the function of all genes in Arabidopsis thaliana ', as well as other European Arabidopsis functional genomics initiatives.

This research has uncovered additional levels of the genome's complexity. A realistic perspective on the promises of this revolution, is now being developed, with some sense of the major bottlenecks to be overcome. Hence, it was felt that now is a good time to start constructing a vision for plant science for the coming two decades.

The workshop discussed anticipated scientific innovations in a number of key areas of plant science and articulated how these could advance plant biotechnology in the coming two decades. The principal questions covered included:

• What impact has the genomic revolution had on the future of plant biology/biotechnology?
• What are reasonable 10 and 20-year goals?
• What knowledge gaps must be addressed to ensure full realisation of the potential of plant genomics?

Consideration of these questions should establish a road map for the future of plant science research in both the USA and Europe. The workshop also aimed to place this discussion in a more global perspective, particularly from the vantage point of developing countries. As a result of the discussions various conclusions were drawn and recommendations made. These included the following points:

Priorities in Basic Knowledge Generation and Technology Development.

• Finish the current phase of the Arabidopsis genome prolect to know the function of all genes.
• Obtain deep understanding of various networks that govern biological processes in Arabidopsis.
• Develop enabling technologies that are translatable to other plants, including crops.
  a. Interactome protein-protein interactions)
  b. Quantitative proteomics
  c. ChlP-chip
  d. Chemical genomics
  e. Metabolomics
  f. Phenomics
  g. Imaging tools
  h. Visualization/Modeling
  i. Natural variation proof of principle for its potential)
• Create permanent, curated database repositories for all above-mentioned technologies. Standardize all database mining tools.
• Sequence selected genomes for comparative genome analysis.

Priorities in Knowledge Application to Reach the Global Goals

• Structure international research projects to study biological processes relevant for agricultural trails in Arabidopsis and across the diversity of plant species, including crop species.
• Create reward system (for example, funding sources) for interdisciplinary research education and training on an international level and stimulate integrative projects.
• Create a reward system to bridge basic and applied science, including education of new generation of breeders.
• Engage developing countries as equal partners in scientific and educational endeavors.

In addition to the conclusions formulated above, the workshop has formulated three concrete recommendations. The First involves the creation of a US-EC working group on plant genomics and biotech research. The second concerns the launching of international research initiatives to realize certain grand objectives of plant biotechnology, because these objectives are by definition global and hence can be best met by a global mobilization of resources. The third involves the promotion of bioinformatics and computational biology from "a service tool" to a full fledged discipline in biology.

Bioinformatics and computational biology will become the core disciplines in biology in the coming decades and will only deliver an their promise by having appropriately educated and trained scientists in this new field. In the sections below these recommendations are spelled out in greater detail.

US-EC Working Group on Plant Genomics And Biotechnology Research

As outlined above, the recommendation For the working group stems from the observation made during the workshop that the views of US and EC scientists on the future of plant biotechnology are different, but perfectly complementary. In retrospect, this does not really come as a surprise since the research focus in the past decade and particularly in the last five years has been very different in the US and the EC. While the US programme was heavily dominated by the Arabidopsis genomic and functional genomic research, the EC focus delved more into diverse crop species. The complementarity recognized by both sides lies in the fact the right strategy for the future is a combination of the two research focuses. Hence the recommendations for establishing this working group, with the following activities.

• Regular (yearly) exchanges of information regarding new areas identified for research funding in the US and EC, to identify commonalities and complementarities.
• Promote US-EC collaborations on "big projects", such as genome sequencing, functional genomics or data integration.
• Promote joint calls for proposals (e.g., the joint NSF - DFG Arabidopsis program or international, interdisciplinary training programs of graduate students and postdocs).
• Bridge the gap between US and EC Programs

Recommended International Research Initiatives, examples of goals for international projects

• Stable and broad disease resistance.
• Improved use of plants for energy production.
• Resilience to abiotic stresses and adverse environmental conditions.

Recommendations for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

• Support for research-oriented bioinformatics and computational programs in addition to service-oriented programs.
• Inclusion of bioinformatics into a general biology curriculum.