News - AGAP Institute - Genetic Improvement and Adaptation of Mediterranean and Tropical Plants

The PHIV team in its laboratory © CIRAD, M.Adell

An EU grant for the CIRAD plant imaging platform

12/12/2012

The Histocytology and Plant Cell Imaging Platform (PHIV) on the Agropolis-Lavalette campus in Montpellier has just been awarded European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding for its project to design the plants of tomorrow.

Remise du prix par Philippe Taquet, vice-Président de l'Académie des sciences à Emmanuel Guiderdoni. © Brigitte Eymann, Académie des sciences.

Le prix Dujarric de La Rivière 2012

29/11/2012

Le prix Dujarric de La Rivière 2012 est décerné à Emmanuel Guiderdoni. Attribué par l’Académie des sciences, ce prix récompense ses découvertes sur le riz par des méthodes de culture in vitro. La cérémonie avait lieu le 27 novembre à l’Institut de France.

Organisation du "First International Workshop on Biotechnology Applied to Tropical Woody Plants"

18/09/2012

This Congress will take place from 22th to 25th October 2012 in Brazil, at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA)-Minas Gerais (MG). This event will make an overview about the state of art of genomics, genetic transformation and micropropagation of important tropical perennial species such as coffee, citrus, cocoa, rubber tree and eucalyptus, for example.

Inflorescence of the banana. © Cirad, A. D'Hont

The banana genome has been sequenced

12/07/2012

Banana has revealed the secrets of its 520 million bases. Two French research organizations, CIRAD and CEA-Genoscope, with funding from the National Research Agency (ANR), have just finished, in two years, sequencing the species Musa acuminata which is a component in every edible variety (dessert and cooking bananas). This work is a huge step towards understanding the genetics of and improving banana varieties, and was done within the framework of the Global Musa Genomics Consortium. The results will be published on line on Wednesday 11 July 2012 in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.

Transformation of rice. © Cirad, Refuge Platform

A journey through the REFUGE platform

12/07/2012

The international hosting platform Refuge, which uses rice as a model system for the functional analysis of genes of agronomical interest, opens its doors.

Projet Sélection génomique des plantes tropicales (SEPANG)

04/05/2012

Le projet SEPANG (action incitative ATP Cirad), a organisé son second atelier de discussion et de formation à Montpellier du 23 au 27 avril 2012.

4th training meeting on research in genetics, physiology and agronomy at the oil palm (Benign)

03/05/2012

The Agricultural Research Centre on Perennial Plants (Crapp, Benin) plays an important role in research on oil palm and in the production of improved seeds. To attract students to oil the palm research and raise awareness of the roles of Crapp, an annual training was established in 2008 and its fourth session held in April 2012.

1er prix du concours d'images du plateau Montpellier RIO Imaging

18/04/2012

Fanchon Divol Malgoire, Chercheur PhD, de l'équipe Développement adaptatif du riz (DAR), a gagné le 1er prix du concours d'images du plateau Montpellier RIO Imaging.

Centella asiatica, CAP01 2010 11(1). © Cirad, F.-C. Baurens.

New molecular resources to study the medicinal plant Centella asiatica

04/04/2012

Centella asiatica is an important traditional and industrial crop in Madagascar that is collected in the wild for its specific medicinal properties. Ony Rakotondralambo is actually preparing a pHD thesis at the University of Antananarivo entitled Centella asiatica (L.) Urban: biology, genetic diversity, conservation and exploitation management in Madagascar. Here, in the UMR-AGAP facilities, we construct new SSR enriched library and set up microsatellite markers for the study of genetic diversity of C. asiatica in Madagascar.

Atelier Sorgho : une plante multi-usages

30/03/2012

Un atelier s'est tenu du 7 au 9 mars 2012 à Montpellier, visant à définir une stratégie globale de recherche pour le développement de l'utilisation du sorgho pour l'alimentation animale, la bioénergie et les biomatériaux. Des scientifiques du Brésil, du Mali, du Burkina et du Sénégal ont participé à cette rencontre. Cette réflexion fait écho au financement du projet Biomass For The Future qui vise la mise en place de filières de valorisation de la biomasse à base de miscanthus et de sorgho au niveau national.