A team of scientists from the Institute of Biophysics of the CAS, led by Roman Hobza, also participated in the prestigious research project, which will contribute to the creation of a new generation of crops.
15. 8. 2023
An important project of the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and its partners, supported by the Jan Amos Komenský Operational Programme (OP JAK) in the Top-class research call, should help to breed new, resistant crops with higher yields. The Institute of Experimental Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, together with the Institute of Biophysics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and three Czech universities, will intensively pursue research aimed at obtaining the knowledge necessary for breeding new generation crops adapted to climate change and suitable for sustainable agriculture.
74 projects participated in this year's OP JAK call. The project New Knowledge for New Generation Crops of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic took the fifth place and was even the highest ranked project in the agricultural sciences section. According to Jan Martinec, Director of the Institute of the CAS, this is a great success. "The project, which addresses the urgent need for new crops adapted to climate change, involves eight top scientific teams not only from our institute, but also from the Biophysical Institute of the CAS, Charles University, Masaryk University and Palacký University. I consider it significant that these research groups will be able to work closely with each other, which will undoubtedly yield unique results and ultimately enable progress in breeding," said Jan Martinec. According to Roman Hobza, head of the research group from the Institute of Biophysics of the CAS, which will work on genome modification issues in the project, it is beneficial to be part of an interdisciplinary team. "We believe that thanks to cooperation with other partners we will be able to use new biotechnological methods so that they can serve modern agriculture as soon as possible. In particular, this will involve the editing of hereditary information, which is the basis for new breeding techniques. Without targeted modification of hereditary information, it will be almost impossible to breed crops with characteristics that current varieties lack," added Roman Hobza.
The research consortium will receive CZK 435 million for the five-year project, which starts in October. As the principal investigator, plant geneticist Jaroslav Doležel from the Institute of Plant Genetics of the CAS, pointed out, scientists and breeders are in a race against time to breed resistant plants. "Ensuring sufficient food for the world's population in a sustainable way in times of climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. We are already experiencing extreme weather fluctuations. The negative impact on plants will gradually increase, threatening global food production. It is commendable that the European Union is trying to be progressive and strive to reduce the negative impact of agriculture on the environment. However, according to the non-profit association Euroseeds, the measures of the European Green Deal could cause a reduction in crop production of up to 23%. The deal foresees a 50 per cent reduction in the use of chemicals and a 20 per cent reduction in fertiliser use. These demands must be met quickly by breeding a new generation of crops. I believe that our project will contribute significantly to this," explained the Olomouc scientist and project leader.
According to him, the consortium will research plants that are of special importance to the Czech Republic and for which extensive genomic resources are available, such as barley (Hordeum vulgare), oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and peas (Pisum sativum), which can fix nitrogen in the soil and are a source of protein. "In addition, we will research plants that are suitable for studying specific processes important for breeding, such as genomic conflicts, mode of reproduction and stress tolerance, and interactions with pathogenic soil fungi. We will also use the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in our research as needed," added Jaroslav Doležel.
The Jan Amos Komenský Operational Programme has allocated a total of CZK 8 billion to support cutting-edge research projects. The aim was to support excellent research teams, which will increase the involvement of Czech research organisations in international cooperation networks and in the long term will also contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the Czech Republic.