Plant & Crop Biosciences

The Plant & Crop Biosciences Research Theme focuses on the leveraging of plant and crop biosciences for "bio-based" sustainable development in Ireland and internationally (particularly in developing countries).

Research topics

Research topics under investigation in this theme include applications of plant genetics, epigenetics and biotechnology in relation to advancing understanding and improvement of the following.

• Plant reproduction
• Seed development
• Plant nutritional quality
• Heterosis (hybrid vigour)
• Plant cell wall biology
• Abiotic stress tolerance
• Bioenergy crop development
• Plant genome evolution & bioinformatics

Institutional and Company Partners

• Agbiotechnics (Ireland) Ltd
• BenchBio Ltd
• Irish Grain and Feed Manufacturers Association
• International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
• International Crops Institute for the Semi-Arid Dryland Tropics (ICRISAT)
• Fitzgerald Nurseries Ltd
• Brandon Products Ltd
• National Botanic Gardens
• TEAGASC (OakPark)
• University College Davis (USA) Biotechnology Program