The Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Rosario (IBR-CONICET-UNR, Argentina) and BioAtlantis (Ireland) join a new international network of scientific leaders, composed of research centers from Europe, Africa and South America, focused on the development of “molecular preparation” technologies to improve crop performance under stress conditions caused by climate change.
The project is called “CropPrime” and has been funded with 1 million Euros under the European Union’s HORIZON-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme (Grant Agreement ID: 101086366).
CropPrime will focus on developing new technologies to improve crop tolerance to stress associated with climate change. This includes the development of biostimulants, using natural compounds sustainably obtained from marine and terrestrial sources, such as algae, fungi and plants. Ireland’s biotech partner, BioAtlantis, will also focus on plant biostimulants derived from marine algae.” The project will also develop RNA-based fungicides to reduce pathogen infection in crops. The findings from this research will lead to the development of a new generation of sustainable agrotech products that will help growers “prime” and protect their crops against adverse and stressful weather conditions, such as drought, heat, cold, root asphyxiation and various pathogens — stress conditions whose incidence is increasing due to climate change. Crops evaluated in the project will include tomato and strawberry.
The consortium is composed of leading academic institutions in plant science research, including VIB-Plant Systems Biology in Ghent (Belgium), the James Hutton Institute (UK), Mendel University in Brno and the Centre for Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic), and the Centre for Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology (Bulgaria). Together with industry partner BioAtlantis (Ireland), the network will develop new plant protection products that enable an effective flow of information and expertise between EU Member States and sectors.
The two non-EU partners, the University of Johannesburg (South Africa) and IBR-CONICET (Argentina), will expand the network across three continents (Europe, Africa and South America), ensuring access to unique expertise and global impact of the research.
BioAtlantis is an Irish-owned biotechnology company employing over 50 people at its headquarters in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. The company is an innovative leader in the Irish bioeconomy and markets plant biostimulants in over 30 countries worldwide. The company’s involvement in CropPrime builds on its strong reputation in the European biotechnology sector and its delivery of sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions to farmers around the world.
For more information about the project, please visit: www.cropprime.eu.
