Large research infrastructure for plant phenotyping back on the table, six institutions are seeking it
The establishment of the Czech Platform for Plant Phenotyping as a new large research infrastructure and its inclusion on the Czech Roadmap of Large Research Infrastructures managed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic is to result from the cooperation of four domestic universities, an institute of the Academy of Sciences and the biotechnology company PSI. According to their joint memorandum, the partners will cooperate with both academics as well as private companies within an open consortium. The coordinator of the activities is the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute CATRIN of Palacký University.
Apart from Palacký University, the signatories include Masaryk University, the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague, the Technical University of Ostrava, the Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences and PSI (Photon Systems Instruments). The partners are building on the activities from 2019, when the platform was successfully created, but due to lack of funding in the state budget it did not receive financial support. Now a new call is expected and one of the partners´ joint goals is to succeed in it.
“Thanks to including other partners in our initiative, we can significantly increase the scope of our activities and services. It is no longer just about automated phenotyping of plants, describing traits and characteristics of plants in relation to the environment, but we have gained significant strength in data processing and computer modelling using modern approaches, including artificial intelligence. What is also unique is that the platform will connect universities, an institute of the Academy of Sciences and a private company,” said Lukáš Spíchal, CATRIN’s activity coordinator.
Plant phenotyping is crucial in the search for new varieties of agricultural crops, development of protective and biostimulant products, technologies and agronomic practices. The Czech national platform will offer research infrastructure and research collaboration to interested parties from academia and the commercial sphere.
“Our goal is to do science with a big impact on practice. We want to show academic institutions, agrochemical or breeding companies that there are top workplaces in the Czech Republic that will enable them to move their research, development and products to the global level and strengthen their competitiveness. The platform will be open for further cooperation and will offer the opportunity to access cutting-edge technology and know-how. Last but not least, it is a ticket to our integration into European structures,” Spíchal added.
While CATRIN will represent the oldest Moravian university in the platform, the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) will represent Masaryk University. The other partners are the Faculty of Operations and Economics of CZU and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics of VSB-TUO. The parties will cooperate through their research infrastructures, such as OLOPHEN (CATRIN), the Plant Research Laboratory at CEITEC or the PSI Research Centre, and others. The partners will also look for ways to submit joint project proposals in national and international calls.