201 -201 4 6 CBGP ACTIVITY REPORT Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics UPM-INIA Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) Index I 1. Presentation and Objectives……..…2 2. Organisation………………………..….4 3. Facilities…………………………….….6 4 Research Lines and Reports………..9 5. Science and Society……………....109 6. PhD Theses………………………....110 7. Seminars at CBGP………………...115 Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics UPM-INIA Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) procedures, and in the development of bioinformatics tools to handle the large amounts of information generated by them. 1. Presentation and Objectives The strategic objectives of CBGP are: The formation of the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, CBGP) was approved in October 2005 • Generation of knowledge on the genomics and biotechnology of plants as a new Research Centre of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and plant-interacting organisms. following the proposal of faculty from the Department of Biotechnology. The • Development of new technologies and tools for functional analyses creation of such a Centre had been maturing for a long time and from the • Development of new products and processes relevant to the productive beginning it had also included researchers from Instituto Nacional de sectors. Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA). As a result, CBGP • Transmission of information and secondment of educational became a joint UPM-INIA research centre by a five-year agreement of both programmes for scientists and technicians. institutions in July 2006. This agreement has been renewed in 2011. CBGP was created with a Major goals of CBGP in the short run were to increase the relatively small double goal: to do state of the number of research groups that promoted its creation, to obtain the material art research aimed at instruments necessary to do competitive research on plant genomics and understanding plant function, biotechnology and to actively contribute to form specialists. These goals have and to contribute to fulfil the been fulfilled since then. CBGP is located since 2008 at UPM’s Campus de needs of the economic agents Montegancedo, which was rated as Campus de Excelencia Internacional within the agriculture, forestry (CEI) by Spain’s Ministry of Education in 2009 after external evaluation of its and environment productive research, development and educational activity and projects. CBGP has a sectors that are potential 7,500 m2 building specifically designed to house CBGP laboratories, offices users of this research. CBGP and administration. State of the art facilities for plant growth were built, also has an educational role, including more than 350 m2 of growth chambers, and a 1,200 m2 greenhouse and is a reference centre for with about one fourth of its surface authorised for P2-level confinement Main building of Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas experiments. More recently, a P3-level containment facility has been built. training of both scientists and (CBGP) technicians in the fields of Architect: Antonio Fernández Alba Also, important infrastructure for genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and plant biotechnology and microscopy has been acquired. genomics. The creation of CBGP had its origin in the perception of a two-fold necessity: A considerable fraction of CBGP’s research groups have been part of it since to do fundamental research at a competitive level, and to respond to the it became a joint UPM-INIA centre in 2006. The incorporation of new scientists demands of new products, processes and services by the economic agents has been significant since then. New research positions for group leaders related to plant biology. In the last few years, knowledge on plant biology has were created by both institutions, and filled after open, international progressed to an unprecedented pace. A major cause for this progress is the concourses. This has resulted in the increase of research groups from the development of innovative technologies that allow efficient and global original 15 to the present 25. Also, 13 tenured positions for junior scientists analyses of genome structure, information and expression. These new and 6 tenure-track positions were created and filled. technologies are rooted in methodological advances in high throughput Finally, CBGP is quite active in training activities. It is a relevant partner in the sequencing of DNA and separation and identification of proteins and cellular launching of UPM degree in Biotechnology (Bachelor level), in the Master metabolites, in the use of microchips, in the automation of many laboratory programme in Agriculture and Forestry Biotechnology, and in the Ph. D. programme in Biotechnology and Genetic Resources of Plants and Associated Microorganisms. CBGP is also active at organizing extension activities, such as workshops on ecological risks of transgenic crops or activities on molecular biology for high school students within the Science Week (Semana de la Ciencia) promoted by the Madrid regional government. Within the context of Plant Biology research in Spain, CBGP has some unique traits that may confer a competitive advantage to a centre for research excellence: - It is a joint venture between two institutions, UPM and INIA with different goals, traditions and operative systems. This will favour the collaboration among groups with complementary aims and the establishment of consortia with a critical mass sufficient for addressing ambitious research objectives and for competing in granting agencies programmes. - CBGP is located at CEI Montegancedo. This location favours the establishment of unconventional synergies with other research centres on Campus, such as: i) Facultad de Informática de la UPM, Centro de Supercomputación y Visualización de Madrid (CESVIMA) and IMDEA Software, all for cooperation with experts in computational sciences and informatics, for developing projects using bioinformatics or computational biology approaches; ii) Centro de Domótica Integral (CedInt), for cooperation on the design of energy-efficient laboratories and plant growth facilities (Green Labs), iii) Centro de Tecnología Biomédica (CTB): complementary equipment and technology with CBGP will facilitate the development of new programmes, for instance in the fields of plant foods and human health or computational biology, and iv) Centro de Empresas: the proximity to this nursery for technology firms facilitates technology transfer, spin-offs, patents etc. In spite of the fact that CBGP researchers shared a common physical environment at Campus de Montegancedo only since the end of 2008, the availability of new facilities and the ease with which new internal and external interactions could be established among the various research groups, have already started to shape a new working style, which is contributing to fully develop its research potential. Research at CBGP is to be evaluated periodically by an External Advisory Council of five recognised scientists, two of which, at least, must not work in Spanish institutions. The previous CBGP external evaluation was carried out in October 2011. 2. Organisation The organisation and operation of CBGP is managed through a specific institutions. The specific functions of all these organs are defined by CBGP’s regulation (“Reglamento de Régimen Interior”), approved in 2006. Reglamento de Régimen Interior. CBGP organisation is summarised in the figure below. Briefly, researchers at CBGP are organised into research groups clustered into three research areas: Plant Genetics and Development, Plant Interactions with other Organisms, and Plant Interactions with the Physical Environment. Executive Board CBGP is ruled by different organs. Collegiate organs are: i) the Executive Board (Consejo Rector), composed of UPM’s Rector and Vicerrector for Research and INIA’s Director and Subdirector for Research, plus the CBGP Guillermo Cisneros Pérez Director, ii) the CBGP Council (Consejo de Centro) in which CBGP scientists Chancellor of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). and staff are represented, and iii) the Scientific Advisory Board (Consejo Manuel Lainez Andrés Científico Asesor) formed by five researchers representing all three areas. CBGP has a Director, named by the Executive Board at the proposal of the Director of the National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research CBGP Council, two Deputy Directors and an Executive Director, named by the and Technology (INIA). Executive Board at the proposal of the Director. Asunción de María Gómez Pérez Research at CBGP is to be evaluated periodically by an External Advisory Council of five scientists, two of which, at least, must not work in Spanish Vice-Chancellor for Research of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM). Isabel Cañellas Rey de Viñas General Subdirector for Research and Technology (INIA). Antonio Molina Fernández Director of the Research Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (CBGP). Directorate Antonio Molina Director Luis Manuel Rubio Deputy Director of Scientific Infrastructures Juan Carlos del Pozo Deputy Director of Scientific Programs María Ángeles Ayllón Executive Director Scientific Advisory Board 3. Facilities General representative of the CBGP: CBGP facilities at UPM CEI Mark Wilkinson Montegancedo consist of a main Senior Researcher Isaac Peral Programme. UPM building,