National Research Council of Italy

Institute of Biosciences and BioResources

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NovelTree

Project Description

The challenges facing forest geneticists and tree breeders include recognition of changing demands on forests for a wider range of high value forest products and increasing interest on tolerance to pest and diseases and sustainability of forest ecosystems under climate change.

NOVELTREE is designed to enable significant genetic improvement of the composition and characteristics of forest products to satisfy the needs (quality, quantity, sustainability, vulnerability) of consumers and the forest-based sector.

NOVELTREE has received an EC contribution of 4.1 million Euros in the frame of the priority "Life Sciences, Biotechnology and Biochemistry for Sustainable Non-Food Products and Processes". This project, started the 1st May 2008, will last for 4 years.

The consortium NOVELTREE, composed of 15 public and private European partners is coordinated by Catherine Bastien, from the INRA-Orléans, France.

Project Overview

NOVELTREE will provide an improved understanding of the biology of forest tree species and enable significant genetic improvement in the composition and characteristics of forest products in order to satisfy the needs (e.g. quality, quantity, sustainability, vulnerability) of consumers and of the forest-based sector. The recent advances in the genomics of forest trees, the increasing knowledge of functional polymorphisms and the new understanding of the nature and origins of genetic variation should allow far more efficient management of breeding stock in order to exploit available genetic diversity and preserve it in the long term.

To achieve these goals, NOVELTREE will integrate an ambitious combination of approaches, including quantitative genetics & breeding, population genetics, genomics, pathology, tree physiology, forestry and economics.

The research of NOVELTREE will focus on model tree species of high economic importance which are representative of the four main European regions:

  • Maritime pine - Atlantic and Mediterranean Areas
  • Scots pine - Northern and Central Europe
  • Spruce - Scandinavia and UK
  • Poplar - Western Europe

More Information

http://www.noveltree.eu/index.php

 
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