10th December 2009
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) and National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS) sign agreement on collaboration in plant biotechnology.
Two leading institutes in plant genome research join forces. A Japanese delegation of scientists from NIAS met in Gatersleben with representatives from IPK to further enforce and formalise collaboration on plant genome research.
On 8th December the President of NIAS, Tsukuba, Japan, Prof. Teruo Ishige, and the Managing Director of IPK, Prof. Andreas Graner signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Both institutes intend to further strengthen the collaborative ties between their research programmes.
NIAS spearheaded the international effort of sequencing the rice genome and plays a leading role in the identification of genes related to the domestication of cereals and their adaptation to changing environments. IPK is coordinating an international consortium to sequence the barley genome and develops resources and enabling technologies for the identification of agronomically important genes. “Both institutions will greatly benefit from their complementary expertise in various fields of crop plant research”, stated Prof. Graner shortly after the sealing ceremony of the memorandum. To further foster collaboration, both parties also agreed to intensify the mobility of junior and senior researchers between both institutes.
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http://www.ipk-gatersleben.de/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/729056.JPG
Prof. Teruo Ishige (r.) and Prof. Andreas Graner (l.) exchanging the Memorandum of Understanding in the premises of IPK Gatersleben. (Photo: Heike Ernst, IPK Gatersleben)
Contact
Roland Schnee
Managing Office
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics
and Crop Plant Research
06466 Gatersleben, Germany
phone: +49 (0)39482/ 5427
email: schnee@ipk-gatersleben.de
About NIAS
The National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS), which is the largest agricultural research institute of basic life science in Japan, was established on 1st April 2001 as an independent administrative institution of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to be the centre for basic studies to develop innovative agricultural biotechnologies and new bioindustries. Main research subjects of NIAS include genome research of plants, insects and animals, development of novel functional crops by gene-recombination technologies, functional analysis of genes for contribution to breeding applications, and development of new foundational materials for the creation of novel bioindustries. In 2004, the Institute had achieved the ultimate goal of decoding the entire rice genome sequence as a leading country of the 10 counties and regions that had organised the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project. The Institute also has decoded the silkworm genome sequence and developed technologies for the recombination of genes in crops, insects (silkworm), and animals.
About IPK
The Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben, Germany is a publically funded, non-university research centre and member of the Leibniz Association – that represents 86 research centres in Germany. IPK Gatersleben is an internationally leading plant research centre that deals with issues of modern biology, mainly by studying cultivated plant species. Pioneering research to uncover fundamental principles of plant performance and the development of enabling technologies are considered to be of paramount importance in understanding the genetic architecture and the evolution of crop plants at the organismic, the chromosomal and the DNA level. Knowledge-based strategies are developed to facilitate the targeted utilisation of biological diversity for the sustainable production of food, feed and renewable resources. IPK employs about 500 researchers and technical staff from 26 nations. More details can be found on the website of IPK at www.ipk-gatersleben.de.
