Crop plants provide the vast majority of the food we eat. With the global population increasing and the environment in which we live changing, producing improved crop varieties is essential for our long-term survival.
These varieties should suit modern needs in terms of sustainability, (nutritional) quality and a minimal environmental impact. In this
quest for improved and more sustainable plant production, genomics offers the possibility to study plants at the molecular level.
The knowledge generated from this research provides researchers with a faster route to breeding improved crop varieties and preparing processed foods with enhanced quality. The mission of the Centre for BioSystems Genomics (CBSG2012) is to collect genetic knowledge on food crops and, together with our industrial partners, to use this data as the basis for developing new improved crop varieties that can be grown in a more environmentally-friendly manner.
CBSG2012 research is organised into seven project clusters. There are three plant-based clusters focused on the core crops potato, tomato and Brassica (cabbage relatives including Arabidopsis). Within these clusters, research focuses on the use of genomics technologies to help generate a better understanding of how the molecular organisation of plants ultimately determines their phenotype. Quality issues such as taste, appearance and nutritional value are central in this work.
In addition, due to the importance of disease resistance, all our plant-pathogen research has been grouped into a single cluster: pathogenomics. Two technology based clusters, bioinformatics and technology, play a central role and form links with the other biological clusters as well as with associated research centres, namely the Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre, the Netherlands Metabolomics Centre, the Netherlands Proteomics Centre and the Netherlands Consortium for Systems Biology. Both clusters are of fundamental importance to genomics research.
CBSG2012 will continue to expand its position as both a technology developer and a user. The final project cluster is focused on the societal aspects of plant genomics. Within this cluster research is performed on topics such as consumer preference and genomics communication issues, as well as on supporting education programmes reaching out to school and undergraduate students. The cluster is fully integrated within the research programme of the CSG Centre for Society and the Life Siences.
Additional information
Centre for BioSystems Genomics factsheet
Website
www.cbsg.nl
www.erapg.org
www.potatogenome.net