SweTree Technologies and UPSC have entered into partnership with the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology to accelerate research and development on tree value and productivity. The joint collaboration aims to identify new genes for growth increase in trees and is envisioned to strengthen all involved parties.
The joint project of Belgian and Swedish scientists builds on accumulated experience on functional genomics of genes controlling growth in annual plants as well as trees.
This partnership combines four important assets: the strong research on tree biology and genomics at UPSC; the excellent industrial tree biotechnology capabilities of SweTree Technologies; the world-leading expertise in plant growth and productivity of the research group of Dirk Inzé (VIB-UGent); and the outstanding expertise in bio-informatics and comparative genomics of the lab of Klaas Vandepoele (VIB-UGent).
In a first joint-research project, the researchers will test identified key genes for their growth and yield-promoting abilities in Arabidopsis, maize and poplar trees.
VIB and UPSC will share all data and develop new bioinformatics tools to identify key conserved regulators of growth and wood formation. SweTree Technologies will contribute to the collaboration with its expertise in evaluating and testing trait genes, transformation of trees and knowledge from tree plantations. SweTree will also test the best lead genes in Eucalyptus.