Olomouc worksite of Institute of Experimental Botany of Czech Academy of Sciences (IEB) has entered a new platform for cooperation of scientists and breeders

Olomouc worksite of Institute of Experimental Botany of Czech Academy of Sciences (IEB) has entered a new platform for cooperation of scientists and breeders
Olomouc worksite of IEB, which is a part of CRH, has become a member of a newly established Biotechnological National Competence Center for Plant Genotyping. It is the only National Competence Center (NCK) in the field of biological sciences, which aims to link basic and applied research in plant biotechnology with breeding companies, thus supporting the competitiveness of Czech agriculture with an overlap in food, brewing, and malting industries.
 
 
There are seven other research institutes and four commercial companies cooperating within the Biotechnological National Competence Center for Plant Genotyping of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR). The entire project is coordinated by Agricultural research Troubsko.
Olomouc scientists have long been aware of the issues with technology transfer of research results, and therefore, under the Food for the Future program, AV21 Strategy initiated the emergence of the Application Laboratory for Agricultural Research last year. Interest in the services of this workplace is enormous. However, the Application Laboratory for Agricultural Research had to operate with limited funds from the Academy of Sciences. Thanks to financial support from TA CR, cooperation with breeders can be significantly expanded.

“It is the first project of its kind in the Czech Republic and we are very glad to be a part of it. We have some of the best methods in the world and I am pleased that we can offer our know-how to breeders and link science with practice as is common in many Western European countries today. Large breeding companies in France, Germany, the USA, or the UK have their own laboratories focused on molecular biology and genomics. In the Czech Republic, the situation is different and for most companies the establishment of such laboratories is beyond their financial possibilities. Without new methods, however, Czech breeders would not be able to compete abroad,” said Director of IEB in Olomouc and CRH Scientific Director, Jaroslav Doležel.

The TA CR subsidy amounts to CZK 56 million for all participating institutions for a pilot two-year period. After this period, an extension of other three years is assumed.

Author: Martina Šaradínová, CRH