Our ambition is to accelerate the innovation cycle between lab and field. Furthermore, we will strengthen activities to understand how molecular pathways behave in field conditions in order to bring this information back to the lab. Closing the lab-to-field-to-lab learning cycle is pivotal in translating basic research findings to field applications. PSB has also developed unique ways to translate basic scientific insights into field applications. Maize and poplar have since long been used in PSB to validate novel biological insight even up to the level of field trials, meanwhile, PSB also initiated research on tomato, wheat and soybean. This latter crop is one of the major biotech crops and there is rapidly growing interest to develop locally adapted soybean as a major European protein crop.
For much of the fundamental research ongoing at PSB, Arabidopsis thaliana is still the organisms of choice. A. thaliana, a small flowering plant, stands as a cornerstone in plant research due to several key attributes. Its relatively short life cycle of about 6 weeks allows for rapid experimentation and observation, facilitating the study of plant development, genetics, and physiology. Its small genome, fully sequenced, enables researchers to easily manipulate and analyze its genetic makeup, uncovering fundamental insights into plant biology. Additionally, Arabidopsis exhibits genetic and biochemical similarities to many crop plants, providing valuable insights into agricultural applications. Furthermore, its amenability to genetic transformation and the availability of extensive genetic resources make it an invaluable tool for investigating gene function and regulatory mechanisms. Overall, Arabidopsis thaliana’s combination of characteristics continue to make it an exceptional model system for unraveling the complexities of plant biology and advancing agricultural practices.
More and more, the duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza is being developed as a model system at PSB. Long-term evolutionary experiments are run with Spirodela, because of several traits that make it a superior model system to study in particular polyploidy and genome duplication among plant systems. Individuals (called fronds) reproduce asexually at a fast rate (generation time: 2-3 days), are easily maintained in laboratory conditions in a space-efficient way, and have a relatively small (approx. 150 Mb), well-annotated genome. Neotetraploids were already developed from diploid strains in Yves Van de Peer's lab by colchicine treatments and showed immediate phenotypic differences with its progenitor diploids. In this system, newly formed tetraploid populations can directly be compared with their progenitor diploid population, avoiding effects of recombination which plague other systems.