The opening of the Biotechnology and Genomic Center for Plants
The new Center will aim to develop research and training fields such as proteomic and biology systems. It is located at Scientist and Technology Plant which belong to the Technical University of Madrid.
Javier Uceda, rector of the Technical University of Madrid and Carlos Martínez, secretary of State for Research have attended the opening of the Biotechnology and Genomic Center for Plants UPM-INIA, which aims to advanced research for the improvement of the knowledge related to vegetal field and associated organisms. It will focus on the efficiency of vegetal production, a key factor for the future of agriculture.
The investment which UPM carries out in this project will be developed mainly through financial aid from Technology Plant Program of MICINN. In this sense, UPM bet for a modern and dynamic university. Furthermore, according to a treatment signed by UPM and INIA, this public institution depending on Science and Innovation Ministery, will provide half million euros to this Center every year. One million more will be aimed at equipment and infrastructure. Prestigious researchers have been able to gather by using UPM aid, through The I3 and The Ramón y Cajal of MICINN Programs.
The Biotechnology and Genomic Center for Plants (CBGP) which is conducted by professor Fernando García, Arenal, will organize its activity on three areas: Biology of Vegetal Development, Interaction Plant-Microorganisms and Functional Genomic. It will focus on research activities related to differentiation on roots, floration, seeds development, stop growing and development in winter. These features will be a key factor for the understanding and manipulation on vegetal production because they affect to collected water and nutrients, fruit production and grains or wood production.
The CBGP looks for the understanding of plants adaption to adverse conditions such as floors salinity, which are important for semiarid climates of our environment, or defense mechanisms (resistance and tolerance) to pathogens microorganisms as (virus, bacterium or fungus).
Javier Uceda, rector of the Technical University of Madrid, Carlos Martínez, secretary of State for Research, Gonzalo Aguado, Major of Pozuelo de Alarcón, and Pedro Castañera, general manager of INIA have visited the installations of this Center, located in the head office of Montegancedo (Scientist and Technology Plant of the Technical University of Madrid). The main building of CBGP with close to 8.000 square meters is distributed among four floors, two of them holding 14 laboratories each for research groups. Furthermore, it offers a laboratory for Plants cultivation, an annex building 600 m2 large, which is connected to the greenhouse (1350 square meters).
This Center has been created to be an international reference in the Vegetal Biology field. According to Javier Uceda, “it is considered as an open research space which allows approaching issues related to Vegetal Biotechnology, it will be a prestigious Center for training human resources at qualified Masters and Doctorates Program”.
According to the secretary of State for Research, it is necessary to increase our efforts to make society know the benefits which Vegetal Biology provides, “this can offer a cultivation more resistant, even for “bovine plants” which contributes advantages to fight diseases”.