01: Innovation in Plant Breeding – Opportunity or Threat for Our Food Security?
Plant breeding is concerned with improving the genetically fixed characteristics of cultivated plants which, under the given environmental and cultivation conditions, produce the highest possible sustainable and stable yields with the required quality of the harvested product. Greater knowledge about the genetics of plants have led to the development of many new methods of plant breeding; it is possible to breed improved plant varieties with the desired characteristics much more efficiently. The aim of this seminar is not only to discuss the latest technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9, but also to answer the question: What opportunities or risks does the use or abandonment of these new technologies offer for food security, sustainability in agriculture and the conservation of biodiversity under the challenges of climate crisis?
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Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Hermann BÜRSTMAYR
Professor of Plant Breeding; Head; Institute of Plant Breeding and the Institute of Biotechnology in Plant Production, University of Natural Ressources and Life Sciences Vienna, Tulln
| Hermann Buerstmayr is professor for plant breeding at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna. He is head of the institutes of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology in Plant Production. His research work focuses on cereal genetics and breeding which plays an essential role for sustainable and ecofriendly agricultural production. His special interest is in genetics of disease resistance in wheat. He applies classical methods of genetic analysis, and he employs molecular genetic fingerprinting tools for genetic analysis and for SMART breeding (selection with markers and advanced reproductive technologies). He also works on the identification of causal genes that regulate resistance to fungal diseases in cereal plants. He is cooperating with national and international partners, both from the public and the private sector. He supervises currently four bachelor students, four master students and five doctoral sudents. |
Dr. Petra JORASCH
Manager Plant Breeding and Innovation Advocacy, Euroseeds, Brussels
| Petra Jorasch in German and holds a PhD in plant molecular biology from the University of Hamburg in 1999. Before that she studied biology at the University of Bochum. Petra was always interested in the application of molecular biology to create innovation. In 2000 she became IP Expert at GFPi Service Ltd., a company which supports the German breeding industry in questions of intellectual property and technology transfer. Since 2014 she was Vice Secretary General of the German Plant Breeders’ Association (BDP). During her career she developed solid experience in biotech patent law and plant variety as well as in regulatory issues concerning modern plant breeding methods. Petra joined Euroseeds in February 2017 as the spokesperson of the EU plant breeding sector on modern plant breeding methods and innovative technologies. |
