In this month’s newsletter you can read about the first NordPlant paper, Next PlantLink Day, New MSc projects and more!
- Successful PlantLink workshop “Promoting plant research in Sweden”
- First NordPlant paper
- PlantLink student journal club
- Next PlantLink 12 September in Lund – save the date
- KSLA-seminar on regulations for plant breeding
- NPPN field day, Copenhagen
- Summer school in Warszaw
- The new competence center for plant breeding Grogrund
- Advanced R summer school
- New Plant Breeding Technologies and Selection methods
- March for science on 14 April in Lund
- PhD student course on statistics for microorganisms
- Associate Senior University Lecturer in Biodiversity
- Scanoats workshop
- New Masters student project in plant breeding
1.**Succesful PlantLink workshop “Promoting plant research in Sweden”**
On 15-16 March, more than 60 plant researchers gathered in Lund for presentations and discussions on future plant research. The Director for PlantLink, Erik Alexandersson introduced the meeting and welcomed participants from both academia and the industry. Presentations were given on 3 themes – New Swedish plant research initiatives, Swedish plant research in an international perspective, and Outreach and how to build a strong network. The plants highlighted differed from oats to forest trees, and scales ranged from microchips to field scale studies. The meeting ended with a discussion on the potential to organize future Swedish Plant Biology days, led by Stefan Jansson from Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) and SPPS. Karin Metzlaff from EPSO provided experience from other Plant Biology days in Europe, and advised how to formulate a mission for Swedish Plant Biology Days. After an interesting discussion, the meeting decided that UPSC, the Linnean Center for Plant Biology and PlantLink will continue the discussion on Swedish Plant Biology days. PlantLink thanks all presenters and participants for interesting presentations and active discussions! A summary of the workshop will be posted on PlantLink.se
- **First NordPlant paper**
One aim of the recently funded “NordPlant – A Climate and Plant Phenomics Hub for Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Production in Future Nordic Climates” is to highlight Nordic research infrastructures for plant growth and phenotyping which is exactly what is done in the newly published article “Nordic research infrastructures for plant phenotyping”. This article presents a list of such facilities in the Nordic countries and discusses future challenges and possibilities for the Nordic community. More information on NordPlant here
3.** PlantLink student journal club**
The aim of the course (1.5 ECTS) is to discuss current articles in plant science in an open and relaxed atmosphere. Discussions will take place once a month at either Alnarp or Lund, and it will be possible to join by video link. This is an initiative from the PhD-student council at SLU Alnarp, and is supported by PlantLink. Find information here
- **Next PlantLink 12 September in Lund – save the date**
Next PlantLink Day will be in the afternoon of the 12 September in Lund starting with lunch at 12:00. The two overall themes will be Plant phenotyping for a changing climate and Plant, People and Society. Save the date!
5.** KSLA-seminar **
The Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and Svenska Utsädesföreningen invite researchers to a seminar (in Swedish) on the new regulations on plant breeding. The seminar will take place in Stockholm on 8 May. Last day of registration is 2 May. It will be possible to view the presentations online. You can find more information about the seminar here
6.** NPPN field day **
Field day! This is just a friendly reminder to register for the 2018 NPPN Field Day, if you haven’t already done so. The event takes place on April 25th at the University of Copenhagen research farm and we are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible for a great NPPN event. Please share in your own networks – we have room for more participants who would like to take advantage of this opportunity to see our premier phenotyping research facilities and experience the 6P UAS high-throughput Field Phenotyping process in action!
Further details about registration and the day itself can be found on the NPPN website – here . The registration deadline is April 10th.
- **Summer school in Warsaw “Genomics for Plant Breeding and Biotechnology” 19-25 August 2018**
MSc students! Next year’s ELLS Summer course in Plant Molecular Breeding and Biotechnology will have the “Genomics for Plant Breeding and Biotechnology”. It will be given in Warsaw 19-25 August. Registration will open early next year. For more information please contact Hania Bolibok-Bragoszewska for more information.
8.** Grogrund – the new SLU competence center
The steering committee for the first 3-year period of Grogrund has been appointed, with Lena Åsheim, LRF as chair. The scientific leader of Grogrund is professor Eva Johansson, SLU Alnarp. During spring 2018, Grogrund organizes 6 workshops on the topics Gardens, Cereals, Protein crops, Potatoes and root crops, Oilseed crops and Methods. The workshops will be linked to the aims of the Swedish food strategy.
9.** Advanced R summer school **
This international course is open for researchers at university or in industry such as PhD students, postdocs, group leaders, core facility staff and analysts. The course is open for all researchers, but Principle Investigator are especially welcomed! The course is organized by NBIS. Find more information here
10.**New Plant Breeding Technologies and Selection methods**
In recent years new developments in plant breeding technologies (NPBT) and selection methods have emerged. This summer course, aimed at Master’s students, introduces the most important new breeding technologies and their legal implications. A wide range of regional experts from both science and industry will teach the course and share up to date knowledge and insights. Find more information about the course here
11.** March for Science in Lund**
The first March of Science in 2017 attracted 1 million scientists worldwide. The initiative involves scientists and the public coming together to highlight the importance of science and using research-based knowledge in society. Last year, researchers from Scania joined the march in Copenhagen. This year, Lund will have its’ own March for Science on 14 April! The march will start at MaxIV. Find more information here. Follow March for science Lund on social media @scimarchlund. The theme for this year is #hurvetdudet.
12.** PhD student course on statistics for microorganisms**
This course will summarize the most recent advances and experimental approaches to the study of community ecology of microbes in general and fungi in particular. The course targets PhD students working on community assembly of microorganisms. Last day to register is 9 April – find more information here
13.** Associate Senior University Lecturer in Biodiversity**
A position as Associate senior lecturer in Biodiversity is available at Lund University. Last day to apply is 8 May, and information on the position is available here
14.** Scanoats workshop 2 May**
From idea to market – Turning those brilliant research ideas into commercial products. This workshop will provide successful examples of how to turn research ideas into commercially viable products.
Information: http://www.scanoats.se/fileadmin/scanoats/documents/ScanOats_1st_workshop_concept_note.pdf
Preliminary programme: http://www.scanoats.se/fileadmin/scanoats/documents/Schedule_ScanOats_workshop_02.05.2018.pdf
Registration: http://www.scanoats.se/news-and-opportunities/events/register-workshop/
- **MSc project: Genomic prediction for selection in sugar beet breeding**
MariboHilleshög is a plant breeding company with the main Research and Development site in Landskrona. We have been breeding sugar beets for more than 100 years and today we are using modern plant breeding technologies, for example genomic selection. We have several large data sets in genomic selection, both training sets and data for implementation in breeding programs, and we are constantly trying to optimize how we are using this technology. In the implementation phase there is a need to genotype 10,000’s of plants and then the number of markers to analyse is a key aspect of the efficiency. By using already existing data sets we can study the effect of increasing or decreasing the number of markers used in implementation and finding an optimal number.
For more information please contact Thomas Kraft, Thomas.kraft@maribohilleshog.com, +46-734 437279