Global apiculture is facing an unprecedented crisis of increasing parasite pressure and a loss of hon-eybee biodiversity. SMARTBEES unites a team of experts with the necessary skills to build a bright and sustainable future. The SMARTBEES concept is low risk and high impact, using established protocols and state-of-the-art methods. Including world leading researchers from outwith the traditional honeybee sphere (e.g. acarology, genetic breeding and insect immunology). We will identify crucial facets of honeybee resistance to colony losses, Varroa and viruses. We will provide a step-change in the current mechanistic understanding of these traits, and will characterise the genetic background of the resistance mechanisms in honeybees. We will develop breeding strategies to increase the frequencies of these valuable traits in local honeybee populations, considering the variable need of both common and endangered subspecies and local beekeeping practises. Breeding efforts concentrating on very few races may endanger genetic diversity, to avoid this SMARTBEES will promote multiple local breeding efforts, to conserve local resilient populations and will develop molecular tools for describing and safeguarding future populations. SMARTBEES recognizes responsibility to protect our natural honeybee heritage. SMARTBEES will commission extension science, and work in cooperation with stakeholders to attain conservation by utilisation. SMARTBEES will establish a network of apiaries for performance testing, to encourage local uptake of resistant traits. These will be run mainly by beekeepers, thereby improving the local acceptability and dissemination, and support the long-term sustainability of the apicultural sector. SMARTBEES recognises the need to horizon scan for new threats, and the consortium includes the current EU reference laboratory to that end. SMARTBEES is an opportunity to make a lasting difference to the health, resilience and genetic diversity of our honeybees.
EnviGuard is a response to the growing need for accurate real time monitoring of the seas/ocean and the aquaculture industries need for a reliable and cost-effective risk management tool. The implementation of the EnviGuard system will allow for early detection of harmful algae blooms (HAB), chemical contaminants, viruses and toxins thus preventing economic losses. The modular EnviGuard system will be made up of three different sensor modules (microalgae / pathogens, i.e. viruses & bacteria / toxins & chemicals), that are connected to the common interface 'EnviGuard Port' which collects and sends the information to a server. The data will be accessible through a website in real-time. The modularity of the system enables an individual setup for each purpose thus offering a tailor-made solution for each future client.
MariaBox will develop a wireless marine environment analysis device for monitoring chemical and biological pollutants while installed into a buoy, a maritime means of transport or a mooring. The device, based on novel biosensors, will be of high-sensitivity, portable and capable of repeating measurements over a long time, allowing permanent deployment at sea. The word 'MARIA' is the plural of the Latin 'mar' (sea) and expresses the wide applicability that this system offers in multiple locations where low-cost and real-time in situ analytical monitoring devices are required. The approach includes: a) a sensing and analysis box, b) a modular communication system, c) a flexible power system, d) a software platform, and e) a cell phone application. The box will transmit the collected data in real time through different channels according to local needs and geographical location: radio, GSM/GPRS/3G, WiFi, WiMAX or satellite link. The unit will be designed to be remotely controlled and will implement the OTA programming and OTA configuration features which will allow the user to update the firmware of the MariaBox unit and modify various configuration parameters wirelessly. Remote updates are a key factor in deployment scalability since it offers the only possibility of easily updating or reprogramming the devices after the initial deployment. Therefore, the maintenance costs are significantly reduced. Biosensors will be developed for 5 man-made chemicals and for 4 categories of microalgae toxins relevant to shell fish and fish farming. The novel biosensors will contribute to new standards for environmental analysis. The analytes selected for the biosensors are in line with 1) the Article 16 of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), 2) the Decision 2455/2001/EC and 3) The Commission Directive 2009/90/EC. The system developed will be demonstrated and validated in four different scenarios in selected locations in Norway, Spain, Cyprus and Ireland.
Das Projekt zielt darauf ab die genetischen Ressourcen von Leguminosen in Europa zu untersuchen um Ihre nachhaltige Produktion und Nutzung zu fördern. Neue Sorten und neue Lebens-und Futtermittel sollen die Proteinproduktion in der EU wettbewerbsfähiger und nachhaltiger machen. Kurzfristige Ziele S & T: 1. Bewertung lokaler genetischer Ressourcen von Erbse (Pisum sativum L.), Ackerbohne (Vicia faba L.) und Augenbohne (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) für die Entwicklung von neuen Sorten für Lebens- und Futtermittel und die weitere Verwendung in der Zucht; 2. Entwicklung neuer Lebens- und Futtermittel aus verfügbaren europäischen Sorten von Erbse, Ackerbohne und Augenbohne; 3. Auswahl geeigneter Rhizobienstämme und arbuskulären Mykorrhizapilze zur Unterstützung der Stickstofffixierung und Entwicklung von neuen, kommerziellen Sporen-Impfstoffen; 4. Bewertung des Einflusses von Leguminosen auf die Bodeneigenschaften in nachhaltigen, regional-spezifischen Anbausystemen. Projektschwerpunkt an der BOKU sind die Wurzelsysteme.
Subprojects: - Identifying general relationships between semi-natural habitats, on-farm management and biodiversity (WP1) - Linking biodiversity to ecosystem services on farmland (WP2) - Mitigation of biodiversity loss and promotion of ecosystem services (WP3). The next few decades will witness a rapidly increasing demand for agricultural products. This growing demand needs to be met largely through intensification (produce more from the same land surface) because there is little scope for an increase in agricultural area. Ecological intensification has been proposed as a promising solution. Ecological intensification is the optimization of all provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services in the agricultural production process. As such it advocates to maintain or enhance agricultural production through the promotion of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. The LIBERATION project aims to provide the evidence-base for the potential of ecological intensification to sustainably enhance food security with minimal negative impacts on the environment. This requires a basic insight in how biodiversity contributes to various ecosystem services and subsequently how ecosystem services contribute to yield and farm income. Key questions that will be addressed are: - How landscape structure and land-use interact in the provisioning of ecosystem services; - How farmland biodiversity is related to multiple ecosystem services; - Whether there are trade-offs between different ecosystem services; - How ecosystem services are related to farm income; - How ecosystem services may be influenced by policy measures at the local, national or EU scale. LIBERATION will focus on the ecosystem services pollination, pest control, nutrient cycling and soil fertility, thus examining both above- and below-ground ecosystem services as well as possible trade-offs and synergies. Implications for greenhouse gas emissions will be explored throughout all activities in the project. Ecosystem service delivery will be expressed in terms of (their contribution to) agricultural yield and in terms of farm income.
Miscanthus is a C4 perennial rhizomatous grass originating from Eastern Asia that has become a leading candidate crop for production of lignocellulosic feedstocks due to its rapid biomass accumulation in temperate climates. There is currently a single commercial clone, M. x giganteus which has a number of limitations. Research over the past 20 years has shown that a few key species and their interspecific hybrids have a high yield potential whilst requiring low inputs. Partners within this consortium have been working with these species for many years and are able to supply diverse and promising germplasm to form the basis of this project. The overall objective of this project is to optimize the miscanthus bioenergy and biopoduct chain by: trialling elite germplasm types over a range of sites across Europe, Ukraine and Russia; analysing the key traits that currently limit the potential of miscanthus; identifying high-value bioproducts; and modelling the combined results to provide recommendations to policy makers, growers and industry. The outcomes of the project will include screened germplasm and knowledge which will provide solutions to key existing bottlenecks. The plants used in these studies will be propagated through tissue culture or through seeds to generate sufficient homogenous plantlets (WP2) for experiments and trials on laboratory, agronomic plot and near-commercial scales. The specific topics tackled in these trials are (1) dissection of the traits underpinning tolerance to the abiotic stresses drought, salinity, cold and freezing (WP3), (2) yield and quality in a wide range of environments, taking into consideration traits such as senescence, nutrient re-cycling and nutrient-use efficiency (WP4), (3) process-ability of biomass to convenient fuel formats (WP5) and added-value products (WP6). Data gathered in WPs 3-6 will be integrated through the development of modelling parameters needed to build up life-cycle analysis models and other decision support tools to identify optimum production scenarios in the EU, Ukraine and Russia (WP7). Recommendations will be provided to miscanthus developers on appropriate genotype selection, propagation and processing methods to maximize the environmental, economic and social benefits. The development of the full potential of miscanthus through OPTIMISC will contribute to Europes transition to a sustainable biobased economy.
SYNPOL aims to propel the sustainable production of new biopolymers from feedstock. SYNPOL will theretoestablish a platform that integrates biopolymer production through modern processing technologies, withbacterial fermentation of syngas, and the pyrolysis of highly complex biowaste (e.g., municipal, commercial,sludge, agricultural). The R&D activities will focus on the integration of innovative physico-chemical, biochemical,downstream and synthetic technologies to produce a wide range of new biopolymers. The integration will engagenovel and mutually synergistic production methods as well as the assessment of the environmental benefitsand drawbacks. This integrative platform will be revolutionary in its implementation of novel microwave pyrolytictreatments together with systems-biology defined highly efficient and physiologically balanced recombinantbacteria. The latter will produce biopolymer building-blocks and polyhydroxyalkanoates that will serve tosynthesize novel bio-based plastic prototypes by chemical and enzymatic catalysis. Thus, the SYNPOL platformwill empower the treatment and recycling of complex biological and chemical wastes and raw materials in asingle integrated process. The knowledge generated through this innovative biotechnological approach will notonly benefit the environmental management of terrestrial wastes, but also reduce the harmful environmentalimpact of petrochemical plastics. This project offers a timely strategic action that will enable the EU to lead worldwide the syngas fermentation technology for waste revalorisation and sustainable biopolymer production.
The current project proposal discloses a novel biorefinery process for a sustainable, waste free, low energy conversion route of negative value marine waste streams into high value, high performance chemical intermediates and products for the polymer industry. The project has a strong emphasis on technology development and transfer to low-tech and developing countries in the EU and associated ICPC and therefore will significantly contribute to the technological and economic leadership of the EU. The technologies disclosed in this project will foster the natural growth of sustainable economies in the EU and beyond by eliminating the need for fossil resources to preserve and exceed the current standard of living. The innovative technologies developed in this project will apply novel concepts for the production of bio-based platform chemicals that act as 'drop-ins' for existing and novel polymer production processes with high atom efficiencies. The unique assembly of the current consortium consisting of academics, SME's and large scale chemical industry partners, clearly has the scientific and technical expertise to rapidly transform laboratory based results into novel product lines at an accelerated time frame. As a part of the strategy the consortium has included Demonstration Activities as require by the FP7-KBBE-Call.
Objective: MAGICPAH aims to explore, understand and exploit the catalytic activities of microbial communities involved in the degradation of persistent PAHs. It will integrate (meta-) genomic studies with in-situ activity assessment based on stable isotope probing particularly in complex matrices of different terrestrial and marine environments. PAH degradation under various conditions of bioavailability will be assessed as to improve rational exploitation of the catalytic properties of bacteria for the treatment and prevention of PAH pollution. We will generate a knowledge base not only on the microbial catabolome for biodegradation of PAHs in various impacted environmental settings based on genome gazing, retrieval and characterization of specific enzymes but also on systems related bioavailability of contaminant mixtures. MAGICPAH takes into account the tremendous undiscovered meta-genomic resources by the direct retrieval from genome/meta-genome libraries and consequent characterization of enzymes through activity screens. These screens will include a high-end functional small-molecule fluorescence screening platform and will allow us to directly access novel metabolic reactions followed by their rational exploitation for bio-catalysis and the re-construction of biodegradation networks. Results from (meta-) genomic approaches will be correlated with microbial in situ activity assessments, specifically dedicated to identifying key players and key reactions involved in anaerobic PAH metabolism. Key processes for PAH metabolism particularly in marine and composting environments and the kinetics of aerobic degradation of PAH under different conditions of bioavailability will be assessed in model systems, the rational manipulation of which will allow us to deduce correlations between system performance and genomic blueprint. The results will be used to improve treatments of PAH-contaminated sites.
Das Ziel von SPARD ist es, zum Verständnis der ursächlichen Beziehungen zwischen den von der EU geförderten Maßnahmen zur ländlichen Entwicklung und ihren Effekten im räumlichen Kontext beizutragen und für die Politikberatung ein entsprechendes modellbasiertes Tool zu entwickeln. Mittels räumlich-ökonometrischer Analyse auf EU-27 und auf Fallstudien-Ebene in fünf Regionen werden Optionen zur Ex-Post-Evaluierung und zum ex-ante assessment integriert. Maßgabe ist, einen Beitrag zur zielgerichten Planung und Steuerung von ländlichen Entwicklungspolitiken, -programmen und -maßnahmen zu leisten.
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