Partners
Mendel University in Brno
The coordinator of the project MENDELU hosts the Phytophthora Research Center which harbors one of the biggest collections of rare oomycete species in the world. This unique resource will be harnessed to produce a range of mycelial isolates from different Phytophthora species that will be tested either as crude or fractionated extracts.
Contribution
As a project coordinator, MENDELU will carry out most of the management activities and the coordination between the participants. MENDELU will also provide proteomics expertise to the rest of the consortium and will be invaluable in analyzing modes of action of novel and existing biostimulants.
Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology
Contribution
CPSBB will contribute with expertise on abiotic stress physiology, signal transduction and stress tolerance characterization as well as in bioinformatics, especially transcriptomics analysis and data integration. Moreover, CPSBB will coordinate the dissemination, communication and exploitation measures.
VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
VIB-PSB is a leading European research institute and an internationally recognized center of excellence in plant systems biology. The core mission is to translate excellence in basic research to benefits for society.
Contribution
Prof. Frank Van Breusegem's Laboratory will join the project with a set of proprietary Arabidopsis lines crucial for a mode of action discovery and know-how and expertise in chemical biology and stress signaling.
BIOLOGY CENTER CAS
Contribution
BC CAS brings expertise in plant signal transduction which is at the core of the activity of plant biostimulants. He will host researchers to investigate the activity and molecular processes triggered by novel compounds such as ROS burst, callose deposition and MAP kinase activation.
The James Hutton Institute
Contribution
JHI will contribute to the consortium with their high throughput phenotyping facilities developed as part of the £27M Advanced Plant Growth Centre capital project and expertise in imaging data analysis. They will be responsible for the phenotyping training, including workshops "High throughput phenotyping and functional crop image analysis" and "Entrepreneurship and transferable skills'', and will take on the responsibility to coordinate the other training and networking activities.
BioAtlantis
BioAtlantis is a marine biotechnology company, specializing in the production and purification of natural bioactive compounds with the aim of providing solutions to specific problems in crops, animals and humans. The company's involvement in CropPrime builds on its strong reputation as a disruptor in the European biotechnology sector and in the delivery of environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions to crop growers worldwide.
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Contribution
BioAtlantis will enrich the consortium with the perspective of a successful biotechnological company that actively invests in research and innovation (R&I) and has coordinated and participated in a range of national and international R&I projects. The company will develop environmentally sustainable biostimulant and biofungicide technologies that will enhance yield in fruiting vegetables and berry crops.
University of Johannesburg
Contribution
The team of Dr. Fidele Tugizimana and Dr. Msizi Mhlongo from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) consists of outstanding experts on metabolomics and has state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure for that purpose. Early-stage and experienced researchers from some of the other partners will be seconded to UJ to adopt the essential methods and approaches used in this field as well as to perform metabolomics-related research tasks. Finally, the group at the UJ will organize a "Plant metabolomics workshop".
IBR CONICET
Contribution
The group of Prof. Maria Rosa Marano at IBR-CONICET possesses significant knowhow on the effect of Rosmarinus officinalis extracts against different types of biotic stresses in crops of agronomic interest and will be primarily responsible for providing access and expertise with different pathosystems for the characterization of novel natural compounds from phytophthora and rosemary extracts. This role will be complemented by a course "Molecular tools for study of plant-pathogen interactions" organized by IBR-CONICET. Researchers from IBR-CONICET will be involved in all other research-related tasks.