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Research activities range from plant molecular biology to ecological studies; the main topics include genetic engineering of plants, molecular genetics and diagnosis of plant viruses, viroids and phytoplasmas, and biophysics and physiology of photosynthesis.
The Institute of Plant Molecular Biology was founded in 1990 when several genetically oriented teams split from the Institute of Experimental Botany in Prague and moved to České Budějovice. The Institute is well equipped with instruments and facilities necessary for plant molecular biology, including air-conditioned greenhouses, climate chambers and rooms for plant tissue cultures. It is authorized to work with genetically modified organisms and quarantined plant pathogens. The Institute contributes significantly to national programs of plant biotechnology and provides expertise on the diagnosis of quarantined plant viruses to the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Phytosanitary Administration, and on genetically modified crops to the Ministry of the Environment.
An important part of the activities of the Institute is training in plant molecular biology and plant pathology, which is performed in close cooperation with the University of South Bohemia. In association with the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Agriculture and the Institute of Physical Biology, the Institute received accreditation for PhD programs in molecular biology, genetics and physiology, plant pathology and biophysics. Currently, the Institute hosts 38 Czech and foreign students, including 18 persuing a PhD. Nearly half of the scientist staff takes part in teaching classes. The University of South Bohemia, Charles University in Prague, and Palacký University in Olomouc are partners in joint research projects.
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Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v. v. i. |
