Biotech Updates

French ‘Green Biotechnology' to Serve the Plants of Tomorrow

July 8, 2011

A group of French scientists and partners composed of five national research institutions and around 21 seed companies, industries, technical institutions and competitive clusters have collaborated to form a scientific interest group (GIS) on ‘green biotechnology'. This is in response to the global agricultural challenges that require major advances in plant breeding, recognizing the essential role of green biotechnology.

The GIS will be working on the four strategic objectives for future crop varieties: adaptation of agriculture to global challenge; efficient use of water and mineral resources; improve yields and crop quality in conditions of high economic and environmental performance; and plant adaption to new uses such as biofuels.

Research works will be based on existing world-class technology platforms (sequencing, phenotyping, bioinformatics, cell engineering, genetic and genomic resources) and the pooling of technology needed for advanced research. Discovering new biotechnology tools will also be enhanced for future use.

The news article can be viewed in French at http://www.inra.fr/presse/lancement_gis_biotechnologies_vertes