2024-2029 CROP WILD RELATIVES UTILIZATION AND CONSERVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Coordinator: Christian Schob (URJC)
Funding Agency: European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement N°101135314
COUSIN envisions a future where Crop Wild Relatives (CWRs) are appreciated across Europe for their contribution to natural and agro-biodiversity and as a valued resource for breeding biotic and abiotic resistance and quality traits to improve climate resilience and nutritional value of modern crop varieties. COUSIN aims to enable conservationists, breeders, farmers and consumers to migrate towards a CWR-nurturing paradigm by showcasing representative examples of CWRs for five major European crops (lettuce, brassicas, pea, wheat and barley). The COUSIN multi-actor approach will contribute with a multitude of priority traits identified in previous projects of COUSIN partners and a recent stakeholder questionnaire to support crop diversity, agricultural sustainability and healthy consumer dishes. COUSIN’s past projects (e.g. FARMERS PRIDE and DYNAVERSITY) developed tools that serve to establish networks for in situ or ex situ conservation of CWRs, but also identified important knowledge gaps that will be addressed by COUSIN’s unique and timely strategy. See more here: https://cousinproject.eu/
Coordinator: Christian Schob (URJC)
Funding Agency: European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement N°101135314
COUSIN envisions a future where Crop Wild Relatives (CWRs) are appreciated across Europe for their contribution to natural and agro-biodiversity and as a valued resource for breeding biotic and abiotic resistance and quality traits to improve climate resilience and nutritional value of modern crop varieties. COUSIN aims to enable conservationists, breeders, farmers and consumers to migrate towards a CWR-nurturing paradigm by showcasing representative examples of CWRs for five major European crops (lettuce, brassicas, pea, wheat and barley). The COUSIN multi-actor approach will contribute with a multitude of priority traits identified in previous projects of COUSIN partners and a recent stakeholder questionnaire to support crop diversity, agricultural sustainability and healthy consumer dishes. COUSIN’s past projects (e.g. FARMERS PRIDE and DYNAVERSITY) developed tools that serve to establish networks for in situ or ex situ conservation of CWRs, but also identified important knowledge gaps that will be addressed by COUSIN’s unique and timely strategy. See more here: https://cousinproject.eu/
2024-2029 legumES: Valorising and balancing the ecosystem service benefits offered by legumes, and legume-based cropped systems.
Coordinator: Pete Iannetta (UCP)
Funding Agency: European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement N°101135512
The LegumES project offers a strategic suite of fully inclusive multiactor driven approaches which aim to deliver practical methods and tools for monitoring and harmonising the benefits offered by legume crops, legume-based crop rotations, and wild legumes in semi-natural ecosystems. LegumES will ensure the adoption of best practices for legume cultivation; develop and encourage the adoption of novel methods to quantify the environmental and socioeconomic benefits provided by legumes across scales; and evidence options to meet EU targets that combat climate change, reduce pollution, reverse biodiversity loss, and optimise nutrient provisioning.
Coordinator: Pete Iannetta (UCP)
Funding Agency: European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement N°101135512
The LegumES project offers a strategic suite of fully inclusive multiactor driven approaches which aim to deliver practical methods and tools for monitoring and harmonising the benefits offered by legume crops, legume-based crop rotations, and wild legumes in semi-natural ecosystems. LegumES will ensure the adoption of best practices for legume cultivation; develop and encourage the adoption of novel methods to quantify the environmental and socioeconomic benefits provided by legumes across scales; and evidence options to meet EU targets that combat climate change, reduce pollution, reverse biodiversity loss, and optimise nutrient provisioning.
2021-2025 RADIANT-Realising Dynamic Value Chains for Underutilised Crops
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos (UCP)
Funding Agency: H2020-SFS-01SFS-01-2020c: From Agrobiodiversity to Dynamic Value Chains
Total financing: 5 999 999€
Website: https://www.radiantproject.eu/
RADIANT will implement dynamic value chains for underutilised crops (UCs) in Europe, realising opportunities whilst overcoming barriers using “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches. Bottom-up: we will identify, co-create and test transformation avenues using participatory approaches deployed via “Aurora Farms”. The functional diversity of selected UC types, spanning cereals, legumes (grain and forage), vegetables and fruits, integrated in value chains for food and non-food uses will be characterised. This will expand the recognition of the value of UCs by characterising their functional attributes, spanning nutritional, health and environmental provisions. We will identify a set of ecosystem services (ES) and agronomic benefits of UC-based systems to ensure value-creation for environmental- (including native biodiversity) and/or physiological-health benefits, including the development of alternative food- and feed- formulations or valorization of traditional dishes. RADIANT will revalue the management of UCs to improve their performance and logic of breeding priorities by combining tailor-made participatory and ex situ approaches in different farming systems (including organic). Top-down: RADIANT also develops and applies impact assessment tools to detail consequential effects of UCs, including ESs and economic impacts. Such insight is allied to an appraisal of societal, governance and political aspects to discern the necessary changes for a systemic local/regional/national adoption of UCs. Building practical capacity will be facilitated for farmers-traders-consumers, and short-supply networks via new (digital) marketing tools and business plans that ensure excellent consumer-producer links. The dynamic value chains will be monitored and optimised using state-of-the-art network analysis tools, including decision support systems for value chain actors. See more here: https://www.radiantproject.eu/
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos (UCP)
Funding Agency: H2020-SFS-01SFS-01-2020c: From Agrobiodiversity to Dynamic Value Chains
Total financing: 5 999 999€
Website: https://www.radiantproject.eu/
RADIANT will implement dynamic value chains for underutilised crops (UCs) in Europe, realising opportunities whilst overcoming barriers using “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches. Bottom-up: we will identify, co-create and test transformation avenues using participatory approaches deployed via “Aurora Farms”. The functional diversity of selected UC types, spanning cereals, legumes (grain and forage), vegetables and fruits, integrated in value chains for food and non-food uses will be characterised. This will expand the recognition of the value of UCs by characterising their functional attributes, spanning nutritional, health and environmental provisions. We will identify a set of ecosystem services (ES) and agronomic benefits of UC-based systems to ensure value-creation for environmental- (including native biodiversity) and/or physiological-health benefits, including the development of alternative food- and feed- formulations or valorization of traditional dishes. RADIANT will revalue the management of UCs to improve their performance and logic of breeding priorities by combining tailor-made participatory and ex situ approaches in different farming systems (including organic). Top-down: RADIANT also develops and applies impact assessment tools to detail consequential effects of UCs, including ESs and economic impacts. Such insight is allied to an appraisal of societal, governance and political aspects to discern the necessary changes for a systemic local/regional/national adoption of UCs. Building practical capacity will be facilitated for farmers-traders-consumers, and short-supply networks via new (digital) marketing tools and business plans that ensure excellent consumer-producer links. The dynamic value chains will be monitored and optimised using state-of-the-art network analysis tools, including decision support systems for value chain actors. See more here: https://www.radiantproject.eu/
2023-2027: Cost Action CA22146 - Harnessing the potential of underutilized crops to promote sustainable food production (DIVERSICROP)
Coordinator: Prof. Sónia negrão
Funding Agency: COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Coordinator: Prof. Sónia negrão
Funding Agency: COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology
With population growing rapidly and within the context of agro-climatic changes, there is an increased demand to sustainably produce nutritious food. In Europe, many nutrient-dense foods are not widely grown and consumed, despite their suitability to European climates and environments, and viability for sustainable production with lower inputs. Underutilised crops that are stress resilient such as rye and legumes, have the potential to supply key nutrients and improve diets and risk of diet-related diseases. Such crops have a long history of cultivation across the continent and are part of the national historic food identity of different European countries yet are underutilised due to several complex reasons. DIVERSICROP addresses these challenges using an innovative, cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach by analysing the deep history of underutilised crops in Europe, understanding the genetic diversity and adaptation to climate change of crop germplasm, analysing current regional trends in the consumption of food products and by involving national and EU policymakers and key stakeholders to revive diverse crop production and maximise the impact of Europe’s agricultural sustainability. DIVERSICROP aims to harmonise fragmented data and develop strategies for the sustainable cultivation of target crops, striking a balance between agricultural sustainability and human nutritional value. DIVERSICROP brings together a skilled and interdisciplinary network to identify climate-resilient crop lines, and potential nutritional and health benefits of their consumption to rethink our food systems. DIVERSICROP will strengthen the Farm to Fork and the Biodiversity strategies under the European Green Deal to contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
2020-2024: COST Action 19116 Trace metal metabolism in plants -PLANTMETALS
Coordinator: Prof. Hendrik Küpper
Funding Agency: COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Many trace metals (TMs) (e.g. Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Zn) are essential for organisms as active centres of enzymes, as about one third of all proteins are metalloproteins. Therefore, TM homeostasis in plants is at the core of many challenges currently facing agriculture and human societies. Low TM bioavailability in many soil types of large world areas causes a reduction in crop production and diminishes nutritional value of food. Some essential TMs (e.g. Cu) have narrow beneficial concentration ranges, while others (e.g. Cd, Hg) are usually only toxic, and in many areas of the world metal toxicity is a severe agricultural and environmental problem. For environmental risk assessment and remediation, as well as improved agriculture (targeted fertilisation and breeding), the mechanisms of TM uptake, distribution, speciation, physiological use, deficiency, toxicity and detoxification need to be better understood. This Action aims at elucidating them by the combined expertise of researchers (physiologists, (bio)physicists, (bio)(geo)chemists, molecular geneticists, ecologists, agronomists and soil scientists). It furthermore aims at making this knowledge applicable to the needs of farmers and consumers, with input from companies for translating laboratory results into applied products. This shall be done by integrated scientific, communication and dissemination activities, pooling together our research efforts. Regular meetings within and between the workgroups of this COST Action, training workshops for young scientists, as well as by technology transfer meetings will be organised in cooperation with the partner companies within the Action, as well as producers and merchants of micronutrient fertiliser.
Coordinator: Prof. Hendrik Küpper
Funding Agency: COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Many trace metals (TMs) (e.g. Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Zn) are essential for organisms as active centres of enzymes, as about one third of all proteins are metalloproteins. Therefore, TM homeostasis in plants is at the core of many challenges currently facing agriculture and human societies. Low TM bioavailability in many soil types of large world areas causes a reduction in crop production and diminishes nutritional value of food. Some essential TMs (e.g. Cu) have narrow beneficial concentration ranges, while others (e.g. Cd, Hg) are usually only toxic, and in many areas of the world metal toxicity is a severe agricultural and environmental problem. For environmental risk assessment and remediation, as well as improved agriculture (targeted fertilisation and breeding), the mechanisms of TM uptake, distribution, speciation, physiological use, deficiency, toxicity and detoxification need to be better understood. This Action aims at elucidating them by the combined expertise of researchers (physiologists, (bio)physicists, (bio)(geo)chemists, molecular geneticists, ecologists, agronomists and soil scientists). It furthermore aims at making this knowledge applicable to the needs of farmers and consumers, with input from companies for translating laboratory results into applied products. This shall be done by integrated scientific, communication and dissemination activities, pooling together our research efforts. Regular meetings within and between the workgroups of this COST Action, training workshops for young scientists, as well as by technology transfer meetings will be organised in cooperation with the partner companies within the Action, as well as producers and merchants of micronutrient fertiliser.
2023-2027 CA22136 - Pan-European Network of Green Deal Agriculture and Forestry Earth Observation Science (PANGEOS)
Coordinator: Dr Shawn KEFAUVER
Funding Agency: COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology
https://pangeos.eu/
Coordinator: Dr Shawn KEFAUVER
Funding Agency: COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology
https://pangeos.eu/
The sustainability of Europe’s green resources are threatened by climate change associated environmental changes. Agricultural systems and forests are among the ecosystems mostly interlinked with human health and wellbeing due to the socio-economic services they provide. Whether heat, drought, extreme weather, or biotic stressors, conventional agriculture and forestry today is unprepared for future climate scenarios, rising populations, changing consumption habits, and traditional management practices need re-thinking. The objectives set by PANGEOS are developed in the wake of the European Green Deal strategic goals. For agriculture, these include ensuring food security in the face of climate change, strengthening the EU food system’s resilience and reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the EU agricultural sector towards a competitive and sustainable use and management of resources. For forestry, these span the protection, restoration and enlargement of the EU’s forests to combat climate change, reversing biodiversity loss and ensuring resilient and multifunctional forest ecosystems. To support these goals, PANGEOS aims to leverage state-of-the-art remote sensing (RS) technologies to advance field phenotyping workflows, precision agriculture/forestry practices and larger-scale operational assessments for a more sustainable management of Europe’s natural resources. We propose to bridge the gap between state-of-the-art technologies and applied sciences, to directly serve and inform academics, Young Researchers and Innovators, Inclusiveness Target Countries and Near Neighbor Countries, end-users (e.g., farmers, foresters), and stakeholders in industry and policy-makers by bringing together RS experts and applications in (1) Field Phenotyping, (2) Precision and Regenerative Agriculture, (3) Sustainable Land Management of Complex European landscapes, and (4) Uncertainty Analysis and Standardization.
2020-2022 LeguCON-Promote the increase in the production of legumes and diversify farms
Coordinator: Carla Santos (UCP)
Funding Agency: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
The LeguCON project consists of the creation of a consortium, a pioneer in Portugal, which aims to promote the production of legumes in the country. In a context in which the preservation of the environment depends directly on the adoption of sustainable practices at all levels of the value chains, there is an urgent need to increase the production and consumption of plant-based protein. The demand for more nutritious and sustainable products has been growing and legumes are foods with several beneficial characteristics for both human health and the environment. Within the scope of the project, a training program will be made available for the implementation of a more sustainable agrifood system, based on the production of legumes, for farmers who wish to diversify their farms or who are looking for alternative crops.
Coordinator: Carla Santos (UCP)
Funding Agency: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
The LeguCON project consists of the creation of a consortium, a pioneer in Portugal, which aims to promote the production of legumes in the country. In a context in which the preservation of the environment depends directly on the adoption of sustainable practices at all levels of the value chains, there is an urgent need to increase the production and consumption of plant-based protein. The demand for more nutritious and sustainable products has been growing and legumes are foods with several beneficial characteristics for both human health and the environment. Within the scope of the project, a training program will be made available for the implementation of a more sustainable agrifood system, based on the production of legumes, for farmers who wish to diversify their farms or who are looking for alternative crops.
2021-2024 STARGATE: Sensors and daTA tRaininG towards high-performance Agri-food sysTEms
Coordinator: Manuela Pintado (UCP)
Funding Agency: H2020-SFS-2019-2
Type of action: H2020-WIDESPREAD-2020-5
Total Financing: 7 000 000€
At CBQF, excellent knowledge on phenotyping, sensorSTARGATE will enable CBQF to become an established centre of excellence on the use of sensors, multi-omics, and plant phenotyping technologies as tools to gain a deeper understanding on the management of desired traits that enable sustainable and resilient agri-food systems. For this, it is essential that CBQF increases its competencies in data management and data analysis. STARGATE will boost the level of excellence of CBQF in a topic of extreme relevance to the centre’s core activities within its three pillars of research: Environment and Resources; Food and Nutrition; Biobased and Biomedical Products. The project will establish a framework upon which the Consortium will build to understand the potential impact of genetic resources and biodiversity on the final food and to modulate plant phenotypes aiming to select the best raw material to generate the Premium food product (nutritious, healthy, safe and sustainable) by increasing resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, reduce the use of fertilizers/herbicides, improve nutritional value of crops and overall quality, extend shelf-life and reduce losses. STARGATE will facilitate structural changes at CBQF and maximize its high potential for research excellence by creating a synergic research environment with internationally leading institutions in this area: INRA, IPK and WR. These partners cover gap areas of CBQF (sensing technologies, multi-omics, phenotyping, data analysis, predictive modeling). These centres have the infrastructure as well as the capacity to manage and analyse data generated by phenomics, metabolomics, diverse sensor data, and build predictive models for selected scenarios, being ideal to support CBQF in acquiring such knowledge at international excellence levels. In the long term, STARGATE will enable CBQF to expand these tools to other stages of the agri-food system and to develop a centre of excellence in high-performance agri-food systems.
Coordinator: Manuela Pintado (UCP)
Funding Agency: H2020-SFS-2019-2
Type of action: H2020-WIDESPREAD-2020-5
Total Financing: 7 000 000€
At CBQF, excellent knowledge on phenotyping, sensorSTARGATE will enable CBQF to become an established centre of excellence on the use of sensors, multi-omics, and plant phenotyping technologies as tools to gain a deeper understanding on the management of desired traits that enable sustainable and resilient agri-food systems. For this, it is essential that CBQF increases its competencies in data management and data analysis. STARGATE will boost the level of excellence of CBQF in a topic of extreme relevance to the centre’s core activities within its three pillars of research: Environment and Resources; Food and Nutrition; Biobased and Biomedical Products. The project will establish a framework upon which the Consortium will build to understand the potential impact of genetic resources and biodiversity on the final food and to modulate plant phenotypes aiming to select the best raw material to generate the Premium food product (nutritious, healthy, safe and sustainable) by increasing resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, reduce the use of fertilizers/herbicides, improve nutritional value of crops and overall quality, extend shelf-life and reduce losses. STARGATE will facilitate structural changes at CBQF and maximize its high potential for research excellence by creating a synergic research environment with internationally leading institutions in this area: INRA, IPK and WR. These partners cover gap areas of CBQF (sensing technologies, multi-omics, phenotyping, data analysis, predictive modeling). These centres have the infrastructure as well as the capacity to manage and analyse data generated by phenomics, metabolomics, diverse sensor data, and build predictive models for selected scenarios, being ideal to support CBQF in acquiring such knowledge at international excellence levels. In the long term, STARGATE will enable CBQF to expand these tools to other stages of the agri-food system and to develop a centre of excellence in high-performance agri-food systems.
2020-2024 SYSTEMIC: An integrated approach to the challenge of sustainable food systems: adaptive and mitigatory strategies to address climate change and malnutrition
Coordinator: Marco Bindi, UNIFI
Funding Agency: ERA-HDHL, JPI-OCEANS and FACCE-JPI
Securing sufficient and healthy food for all, while minimizing environmental impact is the great challenge we face already today. Local production limits and global trade challenge equal access to food. With climate change increasingly affecting food production in areas, which are already disadvantaged, unprecedented population (especially in urban and coastal areas) and income growth and deterioration of usable land, these challenges will intensify. We need a holistic approach to transform the global food production system with the ability to adapt to regional necessities. The SYSTEMIC network (an integrated approach to the challenge of sustainable food systems: adaptive and mitigatory strategies to address climate change and malnutrition) will bring together scientists and practitioners from different disciplines and expertise on different parts of the food system to explore cross-cutting solutions, identify knowledge gaps and develop pathways for a food system transformation, which is climate-resilient and able to cope with societal challenges.
2020-2025 INCREASE Intelligent Collections of Food Legumes Genetic Resources for European Agrofood Systems
Coordinator: Roberto Papa (UNIVERSITA POLITECNICA DELLE MARCHE)
Funding Agency: H2020-SFS-2019-2
Type of action: RIA
Total Financing: 7 000 000€
INCREASE will enhance the management and use of Genetic Resources on food legumes, which are crucial for sustainability, food security and human health, as recognize by the new European Protein plan for the innovation of this sector in Europe. To meet this challenge INCREASE will expand the utilisation of food legumes genetic resources targeting users’ needs in terms of accessibility, quality and quantity of information available. INCREASE, working with four important food legumes (chickpea, common bean, lentil, lupin) with significant value for the innovation of EU agriculture and food industry, will be based on four pillars: i) innovative data management solutions to develop gold standards for data sharing and integration into the central infrastructure, with decentralised data input, defined methodologies and best practices for exploitation of the novel information produced as well as the development of user friendly visualization tools; ii) developing novel tools and principles for germplasm management, based on the development of “Intelligent Collections” as a set of nested core collections of different sizes representing the entire diversity of each crop; iii) adoption of cutting-edge technologies for genotyping and phenotyping combined with the potential of Artificial Intelligence focusing on traits of interest for users; iv) international effort with the involvement of non-European partners and international organization to expand the scope and ambition of INCREASE, by facilitating the integration of available data and available genetic resources for European users. We will develop a citizen science experiment, primarily aimed at dissemination of the project to stakeholders and citizens. Overall, INCREASE will strengthen Europe in the field of legumes genetic resources and simultaneously it will represent an important model and tool for all crop genetic resources.
Coordinator: Marco Bindi, UNIFI
Funding Agency: ERA-HDHL, JPI-OCEANS and FACCE-JPI
Securing sufficient and healthy food for all, while minimizing environmental impact is the great challenge we face already today. Local production limits and global trade challenge equal access to food. With climate change increasingly affecting food production in areas, which are already disadvantaged, unprecedented population (especially in urban and coastal areas) and income growth and deterioration of usable land, these challenges will intensify. We need a holistic approach to transform the global food production system with the ability to adapt to regional necessities. The SYSTEMIC network (an integrated approach to the challenge of sustainable food systems: adaptive and mitigatory strategies to address climate change and malnutrition) will bring together scientists and practitioners from different disciplines and expertise on different parts of the food system to explore cross-cutting solutions, identify knowledge gaps and develop pathways for a food system transformation, which is climate-resilient and able to cope with societal challenges.
2020-2025 INCREASE Intelligent Collections of Food Legumes Genetic Resources for European Agrofood Systems
Coordinator: Roberto Papa (UNIVERSITA POLITECNICA DELLE MARCHE)
Funding Agency: H2020-SFS-2019-2
Type of action: RIA
Total Financing: 7 000 000€
INCREASE will enhance the management and use of Genetic Resources on food legumes, which are crucial for sustainability, food security and human health, as recognize by the new European Protein plan for the innovation of this sector in Europe. To meet this challenge INCREASE will expand the utilisation of food legumes genetic resources targeting users’ needs in terms of accessibility, quality and quantity of information available. INCREASE, working with four important food legumes (chickpea, common bean, lentil, lupin) with significant value for the innovation of EU agriculture and food industry, will be based on four pillars: i) innovative data management solutions to develop gold standards for data sharing and integration into the central infrastructure, with decentralised data input, defined methodologies and best practices for exploitation of the novel information produced as well as the development of user friendly visualization tools; ii) developing novel tools and principles for germplasm management, based on the development of “Intelligent Collections” as a set of nested core collections of different sizes representing the entire diversity of each crop; iii) adoption of cutting-edge technologies for genotyping and phenotyping combined with the potential of Artificial Intelligence focusing on traits of interest for users; iv) international effort with the involvement of non-European partners and international organization to expand the scope and ambition of INCREASE, by facilitating the integration of available data and available genetic resources for European users. We will develop a citizen science experiment, primarily aimed at dissemination of the project to stakeholders and citizens. Overall, INCREASE will strengthen Europe in the field of legumes genetic resources and simultaneously it will represent an important model and tool for all crop genetic resources.
2019-2020 Studying combined climate change effects on crop plants – a collaborative approach (CLIMACROP)
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos (UCP) and Prof. Marek Vaculik (Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia)
Funding Agency: FCT (Bilateral project between Portugal and Slovakia)
Research focused on the impact of the climate changes has gained importance in the field of plant science in the recent years. Elevated CO2 as the direct consequence of human activity greatly contributes to modified environmental conditions. Together with the drought stress, that is often related to primary or secondary salt stress, represent the major abiotic stresses that are responsible for decreased crop productivity worldwide. Silicon was found to decrease the harmful effect of various stresses on plants. However, its complex interaction with elevated CO2, drought and salinity has never been studied. This project is based on unique collaborative approach of two complementary teams interested in the study of combined climate change effects on important agricultural crops.
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos (UCP) and Prof. Marek Vaculik (Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia)
Funding Agency: FCT (Bilateral project between Portugal and Slovakia)
Research focused on the impact of the climate changes has gained importance in the field of plant science in the recent years. Elevated CO2 as the direct consequence of human activity greatly contributes to modified environmental conditions. Together with the drought stress, that is often related to primary or secondary salt stress, represent the major abiotic stresses that are responsible for decreased crop productivity worldwide. Silicon was found to decrease the harmful effect of various stresses on plants. However, its complex interaction with elevated CO2, drought and salinity has never been studied. This project is based on unique collaborative approach of two complementary teams interested in the study of combined climate change effects on important agricultural crops.
2019 Phenotypic evaluation of different tomato genotypes grown under water, nitrogen and combined water and nitrogen stress (BIOTECH4TOM)
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos
Funding Agency: European Plant Phenotyping Network (EPPN 2020)
The world's population is exponentially growing and may double in the next 100 years. Agronomic production should increase in order to answer food demand. In this scenario, it is imperative to increase and improve agricultural practices in food production that allows a sustainable production where the available resources must be used efficiently. Irrigated agriculture uses 80% of the world's freshwater resources, which are becoming increasingly scarce. Along with the high-water use, large amounts of fertilizers are applied to the crops in order to have high yields. In a world with a growing population and with a changing climate there is an urgent need for developing integrated and sustainable approaches to increase agricultural production with lower input of water (i.e. higher water use efficiency; WUE) and higher nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) to minimize fertilizer loss. Despite water and nitrogen (N) being two of the most important factors limiting plant growth/biomass, only a few studies have addressed the complex interactions between both abiotic stresses and new insights are required to improve their use efficiency. Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) are among the most cultivated vegetable crops worldwide. However, most commercial tomato cultivars are drought sensitive in all stages of plant development, with seed germination and early seedling growth being the most sensitive stages. Genetic variability within species is a valuable tool for screening and breeding for WUE and NUE. Thus, the identification of contrasting tomato genotypes for those traits and understanding their physiological and molecular basis that can be used for the development of marker-assisted breeding strategies is of utmost urgency. The experiment to be conducted under the framework of the EPPN2020 TNA proposal presented herein will helps to screen and exploit the natural phenotypic and genotypic variation in WUE and NUE, providing us integrated data that will help to understand the main physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in the tolerance of some tomato genotypes exposed to water, nitrogen and/or combined water nitrogen stress. We expect that, the integration of our experimental work will allow us to develop a model in order to support marker-assisted breeding strategies for improved WUE and NUE.
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos
Funding Agency: European Plant Phenotyping Network (EPPN 2020)
The world's population is exponentially growing and may double in the next 100 years. Agronomic production should increase in order to answer food demand. In this scenario, it is imperative to increase and improve agricultural practices in food production that allows a sustainable production where the available resources must be used efficiently. Irrigated agriculture uses 80% of the world's freshwater resources, which are becoming increasingly scarce. Along with the high-water use, large amounts of fertilizers are applied to the crops in order to have high yields. In a world with a growing population and with a changing climate there is an urgent need for developing integrated and sustainable approaches to increase agricultural production with lower input of water (i.e. higher water use efficiency; WUE) and higher nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) to minimize fertilizer loss. Despite water and nitrogen (N) being two of the most important factors limiting plant growth/biomass, only a few studies have addressed the complex interactions between both abiotic stresses and new insights are required to improve their use efficiency. Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) are among the most cultivated vegetable crops worldwide. However, most commercial tomato cultivars are drought sensitive in all stages of plant development, with seed germination and early seedling growth being the most sensitive stages. Genetic variability within species is a valuable tool for screening and breeding for WUE and NUE. Thus, the identification of contrasting tomato genotypes for those traits and understanding their physiological and molecular basis that can be used for the development of marker-assisted breeding strategies is of utmost urgency. The experiment to be conducted under the framework of the EPPN2020 TNA proposal presented herein will helps to screen and exploit the natural phenotypic and genotypic variation in WUE and NUE, providing us integrated data that will help to understand the main physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in the tolerance of some tomato genotypes exposed to water, nitrogen and/or combined water nitrogen stress. We expect that, the integration of our experimental work will allow us to develop a model in order to support marker-assisted breeding strategies for improved WUE and NUE.
2018-2021 POINTERS - Host tree-pinewood nematode interactions: searching for sustainable approaches for pine wilt disease management
Coordinator: Luis Fonseca (University of Coimbra)
Participating Institutions: UCP, BIOCANT
Funding Agency: ADI
The pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, causal agent of the pine wilt disease (PWD), is considered a threat to forestry ecosystems. Its pathogenicity is not fully elucidated and innovative, holistic strategies are needed to understand the infection process. Proteomics is a powerful tool that can help understanding the metabolic pathways involved in PWN pathogenicity and also in tree resistance. It is known that PWN secreted proteins are crucial for its pathogenicity, but it is important to investigate the PWN secretome in pine species with contrasting susceptibilities and the proteome of infected and elicited trees. The knowledge on elicitors as activators of tree defenses can also contribute to identify metabolic pathways involved in resistance. This multidisciplinary project will shed light into nature and functions of PWN pathogenicity proteins and tree resistance mechanisms, and will develop sustainable and practical elicitor-based strategies for PWD management.
Coordinator: Luis Fonseca (University of Coimbra)
Participating Institutions: UCP, BIOCANT
Funding Agency: ADI
The pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, causal agent of the pine wilt disease (PWD), is considered a threat to forestry ecosystems. Its pathogenicity is not fully elucidated and innovative, holistic strategies are needed to understand the infection process. Proteomics is a powerful tool that can help understanding the metabolic pathways involved in PWN pathogenicity and also in tree resistance. It is known that PWN secreted proteins are crucial for its pathogenicity, but it is important to investigate the PWN secretome in pine species with contrasting susceptibilities and the proteome of infected and elicited trees. The knowledge on elicitors as activators of tree defenses can also contribute to identify metabolic pathways involved in resistance. This multidisciplinary project will shed light into nature and functions of PWN pathogenicity proteins and tree resistance mechanisms, and will develop sustainable and practical elicitor-based strategies for PWD management.
2018-2019 Root phenotyping for better growth and Fe nutrition in soybean (Glycine max L.) (FERRARI)
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos
Funding Agency: European Plant Phenotyping Network (EPPN 2020)
Successful cultivation of crops with the best nutritional properties is an issue of paramount importance in the agricultural and health fields.The limited number of alternative Fe complexes that have the potential to be used as fertilizers calls for the identification of novel chelators capable of producing Fechelates that allow more efficient pathways for root uptake, root to shoot translocation and maintenance of metal homeostasis. Our choice of chelators is based on the knowledge the group has accumulated on the chemistry of 3hydroxy4pyridinone ligands and their complexes as well as their biomedical and analytical applications. Our recent study performed in soybean (Glycine max L.) with two tris(3hydroxy4pyridinonate) iron(III) complexes, [Fe(3,4HPO)3] = [FeHPO], is very encouraging and indicative of the potential of this set of Fe chelates as new IDC correctors, particularly, Fe(mpp)3. Plants treated with the new chelate were significantly greener and had increased biomass when compared to plants supplied with the conventional Fe(III)EDDHA, were able to translocate more iron from the roots to the shoots and did not elicit the expression of the Fe stress related genes. The described Fechelates should be further explored as a new class of plant fertilizers, in particular as IDC correctors. We propose to perform the study in soybean, which has production levels of ca 230 million metric tons per year across the world. It is very susceptible to IDC and we have identified and published work on cultivars with welldefined, contrasting efficiencies towards IDC. The goal of proposed research is to determine the effects of the novel chelate application in root morphology and plant phenotype of different soybean varieties, more specifically we will: (1) evaluate Fe(mpp)3 as an IDC corrector in aeroponic growing systems; (2) utilize high throughput root phenotyping technology to analyze root morphology traits (3) identify the molecular players which can be correlated with the different morphology traits; and (4) relate these different physiological and morphological aspects with metabolomics data.
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos
Funding Agency: European Plant Phenotyping Network (EPPN 2020)
Successful cultivation of crops with the best nutritional properties is an issue of paramount importance in the agricultural and health fields.The limited number of alternative Fe complexes that have the potential to be used as fertilizers calls for the identification of novel chelators capable of producing Fechelates that allow more efficient pathways for root uptake, root to shoot translocation and maintenance of metal homeostasis. Our choice of chelators is based on the knowledge the group has accumulated on the chemistry of 3hydroxy4pyridinone ligands and their complexes as well as their biomedical and analytical applications. Our recent study performed in soybean (Glycine max L.) with two tris(3hydroxy4pyridinonate) iron(III) complexes, [Fe(3,4HPO)3] = [FeHPO], is very encouraging and indicative of the potential of this set of Fe chelates as new IDC correctors, particularly, Fe(mpp)3. Plants treated with the new chelate were significantly greener and had increased biomass when compared to plants supplied with the conventional Fe(III)EDDHA, were able to translocate more iron from the roots to the shoots and did not elicit the expression of the Fe stress related genes. The described Fechelates should be further explored as a new class of plant fertilizers, in particular as IDC correctors. We propose to perform the study in soybean, which has production levels of ca 230 million metric tons per year across the world. It is very susceptible to IDC and we have identified and published work on cultivars with welldefined, contrasting efficiencies towards IDC. The goal of proposed research is to determine the effects of the novel chelate application in root morphology and plant phenotype of different soybean varieties, more specifically we will: (1) evaluate Fe(mpp)3 as an IDC corrector in aeroponic growing systems; (2) utilize high throughput root phenotyping technology to analyze root morphology traits (3) identify the molecular players which can be correlated with the different morphology traits; and (4) relate these different physiological and morphological aspects with metabolomics data.
2018-2019 Effects of FUTURE atmospheric elevated CO2 on LEGUME nutrition, growth and molecular profiling (FUTURE-LEGUME)
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos
Funding Agency: European Plant Phenotyping Network (EPPN 2020)
Nowadays humanity is facing one its biggest challenges: climate change. One of the main offenders is increased carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions. In 2016, atmospheric CO2 reached levels of 400 µmol/mol and is predicted to rise to 550 µmol/mol by 2050. Parallel to high CO2 (hCO2),restricted soil Fe supply also impacts the nutritional content of foods. Since about 30% of the arable land in the world is calcareous and Fe has low solubility, Fe availability is very low in such soils, reducing yields and nutritional status. It is now irrefutable that restricted soil Fe supply and high CO2 will impact the nutrition of the foods which we will consume in the future, particularly legume crops which provide a large share of the global population diet, also being a crucial source of protein and minerals for human nutrition. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to determine the compositional and molecular/genetic changes related to nutrients and bioactive phytochemicals in soybean and bean cultivars in response to hCO2 concentrations and restricted Fe supply. The experiment to be conducted under the framework of the EPPN 2020 TNA proposal presented herein will provide us with integrated data and an overview of the main photochemical, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms behind nutritional losses occurring when plants are exposed to hCO2 combined with Fe deficiency, in the most realistic simulated environmental conditions in the field using free air CO2 enrichment (FACE) systems. It will also allow us to make an effective selection of the cultivars more responsive to hCO2 and Fe deficiency to be used in future studies directed towards understanding specific mechanisms leading to nutritional losses. The integration of our experimental work will allow us to develop a model of GxE interaction for optimizing legume production and mitigate future nutritional losses. This project will bring an innovative understanding on the effects of environmental changes on the nutritional composition of plant foods, which will benefit farmers and seed producers for the development of nutritionally enhanced varieties. Others beneficiaries will be plant scientists at academic, industry, and government facilities, who can use the basic knowledge to help improve the plant food supply, or human nutritionists who can use the project results to develop new strategies for influencing human health. The ultimate recipients will be consumers worldwide, who will benefit from a more nutritious food supply on the long run.
Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos
Funding Agency: European Plant Phenotyping Network (EPPN 2020)
Nowadays humanity is facing one its biggest challenges: climate change. One of the main offenders is increased carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions. In 2016, atmospheric CO2 reached levels of 400 µmol/mol and is predicted to rise to 550 µmol/mol by 2050. Parallel to high CO2 (hCO2),restricted soil Fe supply also impacts the nutritional content of foods. Since about 30% of the arable land in the world is calcareous and Fe has low solubility, Fe availability is very low in such soils, reducing yields and nutritional status. It is now irrefutable that restricted soil Fe supply and high CO2 will impact the nutrition of the foods which we will consume in the future, particularly legume crops which provide a large share of the global population diet, also being a crucial source of protein and minerals for human nutrition. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to determine the compositional and molecular/genetic changes related to nutrients and bioactive phytochemicals in soybean and bean cultivars in response to hCO2 concentrations and restricted Fe supply. The experiment to be conducted under the framework of the EPPN 2020 TNA proposal presented herein will provide us with integrated data and an overview of the main photochemical, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms behind nutritional losses occurring when plants are exposed to hCO2 combined with Fe deficiency, in the most realistic simulated environmental conditions in the field using free air CO2 enrichment (FACE) systems. It will also allow us to make an effective selection of the cultivars more responsive to hCO2 and Fe deficiency to be used in future studies directed towards understanding specific mechanisms leading to nutritional losses. The integration of our experimental work will allow us to develop a model of GxE interaction for optimizing legume production and mitigate future nutritional losses. This project will bring an innovative understanding on the effects of environmental changes on the nutritional composition of plant foods, which will benefit farmers and seed producers for the development of nutritionally enhanced varieties. Others beneficiaries will be plant scientists at academic, industry, and government facilities, who can use the basic knowledge to help improve the plant food supply, or human nutritionists who can use the project results to develop new strategies for influencing human health. The ultimate recipients will be consumers worldwide, who will benefit from a more nutritious food supply on the long run.
2017-2021 TRUE-TRansition paths to sUstainable legume-based systems in Europe (TRUE)
Coordinator: Pete Iannetta (James Hutton Institute)
Deputy Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos (ESB-UCP)
Funding Agency: H2020, SFS-26-2016
Type of action: RIA
Total Financing: 4 999 995€
TRUE - (TRansition paths to sUstainable legume based systems in Europe) is a 24 partner consortium covering business and society actors from legume commodity production, processing, and citizens. TRUE is underpinned by science excellence in the natural and social sciences, and humanities. The main aim of TRUE is to identify and enable transition paths to realise successful legume-supported production systems and agri-feed and -food chains. This is achieved via: a true multi-actor approach that balances environmental, economic- and social-securities by minimising environmental impact; optimising diversity and resilience in commercial and environmental terms throughout the supply chain; and delivery of excellent nutrition to ensure the highest possible states of health and well being for people and animals. TRUE will achieve this using a series of 15 farm networks and 7 supply chain focused innovation Case Studies to characterise key mechanisms and associated ecosystem services indicators. This will empower the production of popular and novel legume-based products on the basis of improved market perspectives and capabilities, including short supply chains. Advanced mathematical approaches using Life Cycle Analysis, and socioeconomic and multi-attribute modelling will create unique Decision Support Tools to identify optimal transition paths to ensure legume supported systems are profitable from ‘the push’, of production, to ‘the pull’ of upstream supply chains, markets and consumers. Critically, the TRUE approach will also advise and empower policy amendments that promote uptake of new farming, processing, manufacturing and retailing practices, in line with the societal considerations of the Responsible Research and Innovation model: policy decision making with state-of-the-art science-based information. The TRUE approach is also augmented by an Intercontinental Advisory Board of 10 international experts in legume supply chain and policy from around the world.
2016-2019 ReStorage pear
Project partners: Coopvale(coordinator), ESB-UCP, Universidade de Aveiro
Funding agency: ANI (Agência Nacional de Inovação)
Total financing: 626.675,91
The Rocha pear is a Portuguese pear variety, with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), that represents about 93% of the national production of pear. Currently, Portugal has the capacity to produce around 200-230 thousand tons of Rocha pear per year, representing about 120-130 million euros, of which 70 – 80 million come from this fruit exportation. However, nowadays, the Rocha pear sector is facing significant losses and struggling to deal with a difficult challenge. The European Union brought forth legislation to prohibit the use of the antioxidant "diphenylamine", known as "DPA" since the beginning of 2014. This measure weakened the national pear sector and Portugal will lose the European market if alternatives do not arise. The situation is quite serious once that without this antioxidant potential, the conservation of Rocha pear and some varieties of apples produced in Portugal is reduced to three months, when symptoms of superficial scald and internal browning become evident. These physiological disorders, superficial scald and internal browning, are the major physiological disorders affecting postharvest pear quality, leading to major economic losses. They are characterized by dark spots on the skin and pulp of the fruit, respectively, affecting the appearance, taste, texture and aroma of the same impeding their trade. The overall objectives of this project proposal are to develop strategies to reduce the incidence of pears and apples physiological disorders, namely superficial scald and internal browning, and ensure fruit quality during long storage.
2016-2019 Strawberry +: novel approaches for boosting strawberry quality from field to industry
Project partners: FRULACT (coordinator), Universidade do Porto, ESB-UCP
Funding agency: ANI (Agência Nacional de Inovação), REF17821
Total Financing: 435.358,00
Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch) is the preferred fruit in the fruit processing industry, representing over 40% of the total fruit volume purchased by Frulact. The adequacy of the strawberry fruit and its quality for the fruit processing industry must be worked out from the
field to the final product. Considering the high competitiveness in the Agrofood industry, this sector has to be constantly working towards the expectations of an increasingly demanding consumer in terms of reducing additives’ supplementation, reducing environmental impact and eager to experience innovative products. As such, it is fundamental to understand if it is possible to increase the intrinsic quality of the fresh material, diminish contamination during production and post-harvest, and concomitantly developing innovative products. The main objective of this project is to increase the suitability of strawberry for technological processing (targeting at an industrial ‘premium’ strawberry: with higher firmness, brix, better color, lower microbial load and with fewer chemical residues) and to reduce the post-harvest losses. As specific goals, we aim to: (i) test novel approaches to optimize the quality and productivity of strawberry, with a main focus on fertilization and application of growth regulators; (ii) conduct a comparative analysis of a soil vs. hydroponic production system in terms of productivity, intrinsic quality, sensorial quality and microbiological load/ diseases incidence; (iii) optimize the yield and efficacy of the 1st transformation (fruit cut and disinfection); (iv) testing the maintenance of the integrity of novel fruit shapes to be used in the development of innovative products. The consortium team members have a vast experience in coordinating and participating in research projects in this field (both at national and international level), having previous successful collaborations.
2016-2018 NUTRI4CAST: Nutritional forecasting: towards mitigating the impact of climate change on legume nutrition
Principal Investigator: Marta W. Vasconcelos
Total financing: 199.496,00
Funding Agency: FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology)
PTDC/AGRPRO/3972/2014
A safe and sufficient food supply, grown in an environmentally responsible fashion, is essential for humanity. Amongst the micronutrients which are vital for human health, minerals have a preponderant role, as they play a multitude of essential functions in the human body. Unfortunately, dietary deficiencies have become a major global public health problem, with worldwide prevalence of e.g. iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies surpassing 50% for both nutrients. Dietary protein sources are also becoming scarce, with legumes representing one of the most environmentally friendly sources. A recent publication showed that legumes, when grown at 550 umol/mol CO2 (level anticipated to exist by 2050), have lower Fe, Zn and protein levels in the seeds. Legumes provide a large share of the global population diet, and a reduction in their nutrient levels is a major concern for humanity. Also, 30% of the arable land in the world is calcareous and Fe deficient, reducing yield and nutritional status. Although there is unquestionable evidence that there will be nutrient losses from hCO2 and Fe deficiency, we do not know the mechanisms behind these losses. Knowing these mechanisms will help us developing breeding programs which can decrease the vulnerability to these changes.
2016-2018 FERPLANT: (Fe)rrying plants to prevent chlorosis
Coordinator at ESB-UCP: Marta W. Vasconcelos
Principal Investigator: Maria C. Rangel
Total financing: €199.721,00
Funding Agency: FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology)
PTDC/AGRPRO/3515/2014
The long term objective of the FerPlant project is to design better (Fe)rrying vehicles to shuttle iron (Fe) into plants, and to understand how these new Fe shuttles work in planta. To achieve this purpose, research will be developed following three main vectors: (a) design of Fe chelates (b) evaluation of Fe chelate efficiency in a model plant (soybean) (Glycine max L.) and (c) investigation of the mechanisms of uptake and root to shoot translocation of the Fe chelates at a physiological, biochemical and molecular level. Our choice of chelators is based on the knowledge the group has accumulated on the chemistry of 3 hydroxy 4 pyridinone ligands and their complexes as well as their biomedical and analytical applications. Our recent study performed in soybean with two tris (3 hydroxy 4 pyridinonate) iron(III) complexes, [Fe(3,4HPO)3] = [FeHPO], is very encouraging and indicative of the potential of this set of Fe chelates as new IDC correctors. Plants treated with the new chelates were significantly greener and had increased biomass when compared to plants supplied with the conventional Fe(III)EDDHA. In particular, plants supplied with one of the compounds, were able to translocate more iron from the roots to the shoots and did not elicit the expression of the Fe stress related genes.
2016-1017: 3F-Processing Platform for Food Functionality of Faba bean
Coordinator at ESB-UCP: Marta Vasconcelos
Principal Investigator: Shannon Hood Niefer
Financing Insitution: Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association
This project has the overall goal of reducing the perceived barriers to use of faba bean in food products by developing a processing platform that can fill knowledge gaps in processing and perception. We will determine the food functionality of the main fractions of faba bean for the main varieties now available. We will focus on dehulling, milling/fractionation/purification and ingredient modification trials of faba fractions. The platform will link to other faba bean research that affect perception of food quality and downstream use in food products and ingredient markets in Europe and North America.
2015-2018 PSAlert - Kiwifruit Bacterial Canker: Exploring Tolerance Mechanisms and Novel Control Techniques
PTDC/AGR-PRO/6156/2014
Total financing: 188.822,00€
Funding Agency: FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology)
Principal Investigator: Susana Carvalho
Bacterial canker is currently the most destructive disease of kiwifruit worldwide. It is caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (PSA), which affects all kiwifruit cultivars, including the green fleshed (Actinidia deliciosa) and the yellow-fleshed kiwifruit (A. chinensis). A. chinensis orchards are, in general, more affected than A. deliciosa. Nonetheless, the reasons behind this genotypic variation in their susceptibility remain unknown. Until the devastating Italian outbreak of 2008, PSA had been reported only in Japan, Korea, China and Italy. However, since then it has been detected in half of the kiwi producing countries worldwide, including almost all top 10 producing countries. In New Zealand, just 3 years after its first report, 83 % of kiwi orchards were infected and in Italy, PSA costs ca. 20.000 euros/ha in yearly production. In Portugal, the 10th most productive country worldwide and 5th in Europe, PSA was reported in 2010, causing production losses of up to 80 %.The current PSA control approaches rely on equipment and machinery sanitation measures, which are not always performed, and on the application of expensive antibiotic- and copper-based compounds, which are environmentally dangerous and labour-intensive. The severity of this menace prompts the development research projects aiming at efficiently controlling this pathogen using environmental friendly techniques. However, current research efforts have focused on understanding the phylogenetic relations between different isolates, the identification of virulence genes and the development of PSA detection and diagnosis molecular techniques. Thus, very little is known about resistance mechanisms to PSA and about the role of the environmental conditions on plant susceptibility to PSA (G x E interaction). Moreover, there is serious knowledge gap concerning effective preventive and curative measures, which is greatly contributing to the increase in the severity of this disease.
2014-2015: FPS COST Action FP1102 Determining Invasiveness And Risk Of Dothistroma (DIAROD)
Marta Vasconcelos (Managment Commitee)
Coordinator: Pete Iannetta (James Hutton Institute)
Deputy Coordinator: Marta Vasconcelos (ESB-UCP)
Funding Agency: H2020, SFS-26-2016
Type of action: RIA
Total Financing: 4 999 995€
TRUE - (TRansition paths to sUstainable legume based systems in Europe) is a 24 partner consortium covering business and society actors from legume commodity production, processing, and citizens. TRUE is underpinned by science excellence in the natural and social sciences, and humanities. The main aim of TRUE is to identify and enable transition paths to realise successful legume-supported production systems and agri-feed and -food chains. This is achieved via: a true multi-actor approach that balances environmental, economic- and social-securities by minimising environmental impact; optimising diversity and resilience in commercial and environmental terms throughout the supply chain; and delivery of excellent nutrition to ensure the highest possible states of health and well being for people and animals. TRUE will achieve this using a series of 15 farm networks and 7 supply chain focused innovation Case Studies to characterise key mechanisms and associated ecosystem services indicators. This will empower the production of popular and novel legume-based products on the basis of improved market perspectives and capabilities, including short supply chains. Advanced mathematical approaches using Life Cycle Analysis, and socioeconomic and multi-attribute modelling will create unique Decision Support Tools to identify optimal transition paths to ensure legume supported systems are profitable from ‘the push’, of production, to ‘the pull’ of upstream supply chains, markets and consumers. Critically, the TRUE approach will also advise and empower policy amendments that promote uptake of new farming, processing, manufacturing and retailing practices, in line with the societal considerations of the Responsible Research and Innovation model: policy decision making with state-of-the-art science-based information. The TRUE approach is also augmented by an Intercontinental Advisory Board of 10 international experts in legume supply chain and policy from around the world.
2016-2019 ReStorage pear
Project partners: Coopvale(coordinator), ESB-UCP, Universidade de Aveiro
Funding agency: ANI (Agência Nacional de Inovação)
Total financing: 626.675,91
The Rocha pear is a Portuguese pear variety, with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), that represents about 93% of the national production of pear. Currently, Portugal has the capacity to produce around 200-230 thousand tons of Rocha pear per year, representing about 120-130 million euros, of which 70 – 80 million come from this fruit exportation. However, nowadays, the Rocha pear sector is facing significant losses and struggling to deal with a difficult challenge. The European Union brought forth legislation to prohibit the use of the antioxidant "diphenylamine", known as "DPA" since the beginning of 2014. This measure weakened the national pear sector and Portugal will lose the European market if alternatives do not arise. The situation is quite serious once that without this antioxidant potential, the conservation of Rocha pear and some varieties of apples produced in Portugal is reduced to three months, when symptoms of superficial scald and internal browning become evident. These physiological disorders, superficial scald and internal browning, are the major physiological disorders affecting postharvest pear quality, leading to major economic losses. They are characterized by dark spots on the skin and pulp of the fruit, respectively, affecting the appearance, taste, texture and aroma of the same impeding their trade. The overall objectives of this project proposal are to develop strategies to reduce the incidence of pears and apples physiological disorders, namely superficial scald and internal browning, and ensure fruit quality during long storage.
2016-2019 Strawberry +: novel approaches for boosting strawberry quality from field to industry
Project partners: FRULACT (coordinator), Universidade do Porto, ESB-UCP
Funding agency: ANI (Agência Nacional de Inovação), REF17821
Total Financing: 435.358,00
Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch) is the preferred fruit in the fruit processing industry, representing over 40% of the total fruit volume purchased by Frulact. The adequacy of the strawberry fruit and its quality for the fruit processing industry must be worked out from the
field to the final product. Considering the high competitiveness in the Agrofood industry, this sector has to be constantly working towards the expectations of an increasingly demanding consumer in terms of reducing additives’ supplementation, reducing environmental impact and eager to experience innovative products. As such, it is fundamental to understand if it is possible to increase the intrinsic quality of the fresh material, diminish contamination during production and post-harvest, and concomitantly developing innovative products. The main objective of this project is to increase the suitability of strawberry for technological processing (targeting at an industrial ‘premium’ strawberry: with higher firmness, brix, better color, lower microbial load and with fewer chemical residues) and to reduce the post-harvest losses. As specific goals, we aim to: (i) test novel approaches to optimize the quality and productivity of strawberry, with a main focus on fertilization and application of growth regulators; (ii) conduct a comparative analysis of a soil vs. hydroponic production system in terms of productivity, intrinsic quality, sensorial quality and microbiological load/ diseases incidence; (iii) optimize the yield and efficacy of the 1st transformation (fruit cut and disinfection); (iv) testing the maintenance of the integrity of novel fruit shapes to be used in the development of innovative products. The consortium team members have a vast experience in coordinating and participating in research projects in this field (both at national and international level), having previous successful collaborations.
2016-2018 NUTRI4CAST: Nutritional forecasting: towards mitigating the impact of climate change on legume nutrition
Principal Investigator: Marta W. Vasconcelos
Total financing: 199.496,00
Funding Agency: FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology)
PTDC/AGRPRO/3972/2014
A safe and sufficient food supply, grown in an environmentally responsible fashion, is essential for humanity. Amongst the micronutrients which are vital for human health, minerals have a preponderant role, as they play a multitude of essential functions in the human body. Unfortunately, dietary deficiencies have become a major global public health problem, with worldwide prevalence of e.g. iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies surpassing 50% for both nutrients. Dietary protein sources are also becoming scarce, with legumes representing one of the most environmentally friendly sources. A recent publication showed that legumes, when grown at 550 umol/mol CO2 (level anticipated to exist by 2050), have lower Fe, Zn and protein levels in the seeds. Legumes provide a large share of the global population diet, and a reduction in their nutrient levels is a major concern for humanity. Also, 30% of the arable land in the world is calcareous and Fe deficient, reducing yield and nutritional status. Although there is unquestionable evidence that there will be nutrient losses from hCO2 and Fe deficiency, we do not know the mechanisms behind these losses. Knowing these mechanisms will help us developing breeding programs which can decrease the vulnerability to these changes.
2016-2018 FERPLANT: (Fe)rrying plants to prevent chlorosis
Coordinator at ESB-UCP: Marta W. Vasconcelos
Principal Investigator: Maria C. Rangel
Total financing: €199.721,00
Funding Agency: FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology)
PTDC/AGRPRO/3515/2014
The long term objective of the FerPlant project is to design better (Fe)rrying vehicles to shuttle iron (Fe) into plants, and to understand how these new Fe shuttles work in planta. To achieve this purpose, research will be developed following three main vectors: (a) design of Fe chelates (b) evaluation of Fe chelate efficiency in a model plant (soybean) (Glycine max L.) and (c) investigation of the mechanisms of uptake and root to shoot translocation of the Fe chelates at a physiological, biochemical and molecular level. Our choice of chelators is based on the knowledge the group has accumulated on the chemistry of 3 hydroxy 4 pyridinone ligands and their complexes as well as their biomedical and analytical applications. Our recent study performed in soybean with two tris (3 hydroxy 4 pyridinonate) iron(III) complexes, [Fe(3,4HPO)3] = [FeHPO], is very encouraging and indicative of the potential of this set of Fe chelates as new IDC correctors. Plants treated with the new chelates were significantly greener and had increased biomass when compared to plants supplied with the conventional Fe(III)EDDHA. In particular, plants supplied with one of the compounds, were able to translocate more iron from the roots to the shoots and did not elicit the expression of the Fe stress related genes.
2016-1017: 3F-Processing Platform for Food Functionality of Faba bean
Coordinator at ESB-UCP: Marta Vasconcelos
Principal Investigator: Shannon Hood Niefer
Financing Insitution: Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association
This project has the overall goal of reducing the perceived barriers to use of faba bean in food products by developing a processing platform that can fill knowledge gaps in processing and perception. We will determine the food functionality of the main fractions of faba bean for the main varieties now available. We will focus on dehulling, milling/fractionation/purification and ingredient modification trials of faba fractions. The platform will link to other faba bean research that affect perception of food quality and downstream use in food products and ingredient markets in Europe and North America.
2015-2018 PSAlert - Kiwifruit Bacterial Canker: Exploring Tolerance Mechanisms and Novel Control Techniques
PTDC/AGR-PRO/6156/2014
Total financing: 188.822,00€
Funding Agency: FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology)
Principal Investigator: Susana Carvalho
Bacterial canker is currently the most destructive disease of kiwifruit worldwide. It is caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (PSA), which affects all kiwifruit cultivars, including the green fleshed (Actinidia deliciosa) and the yellow-fleshed kiwifruit (A. chinensis). A. chinensis orchards are, in general, more affected than A. deliciosa. Nonetheless, the reasons behind this genotypic variation in their susceptibility remain unknown. Until the devastating Italian outbreak of 2008, PSA had been reported only in Japan, Korea, China and Italy. However, since then it has been detected in half of the kiwi producing countries worldwide, including almost all top 10 producing countries. In New Zealand, just 3 years after its first report, 83 % of kiwi orchards were infected and in Italy, PSA costs ca. 20.000 euros/ha in yearly production. In Portugal, the 10th most productive country worldwide and 5th in Europe, PSA was reported in 2010, causing production losses of up to 80 %.The current PSA control approaches rely on equipment and machinery sanitation measures, which are not always performed, and on the application of expensive antibiotic- and copper-based compounds, which are environmentally dangerous and labour-intensive. The severity of this menace prompts the development research projects aiming at efficiently controlling this pathogen using environmental friendly techniques. However, current research efforts have focused on understanding the phylogenetic relations between different isolates, the identification of virulence genes and the development of PSA detection and diagnosis molecular techniques. Thus, very little is known about resistance mechanisms to PSA and about the role of the environmental conditions on plant susceptibility to PSA (G x E interaction). Moreover, there is serious knowledge gap concerning effective preventive and curative measures, which is greatly contributing to the increase in the severity of this disease.
2014-2015: FPS COST Action FP1102 Determining Invasiveness And Risk Of Dothistroma (DIAROD)
Marta Vasconcelos (Managment Commitee)
2014-2015: Efficacy of thermal treatments for the erradication of B. xylophilus contamination in wood palettes.
Principal investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: NA
This project, financed by the company Ecopaletes Lda., aims at investigating the efficacy of different thermal treatment combinations on the erradication of the pine wood nematode (PWN) in contaminated palettes. A new prototipe of heat chamber wioll be constructed and validated for PWN decontamination. This project supports also one MsC student to work on this topic.
Principal investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: NA
This project, financed by the company Ecopaletes Lda., aims at investigating the efficacy of different thermal treatment combinations on the erradication of the pine wood nematode (PWN) in contaminated palettes. A new prototipe of heat chamber wioll be constructed and validated for PWN decontamination. This project supports also one MsC student to work on this topic.
2012-2015 QUAFETY: Quality and Safety in the fresh-cut industry
(M Vasconcelos participant)
Total financing: ~ 3 million Euros
The QUAFETY Project is co-funded by the European Commission through the 7th framework program, and involves 14 partners, of which 6 Universities, 2 R&D Institutions, and 6 SME (small and medium enterprises), from 7 different countries (Italy, United Kingdom, Israel, Poland, Netherlands, Portugal, Greece). Fresh-cut packaged fruit and vegetables sold in the market represent an underestimated public health risk due to the possible presence of pathogenic bacteria that are known to cause serious illness in the consumers. Another peculiarity of RTE (ready-to-eat) fresh F&V is that the food is constituted by living cell tissue, rapidly metabolizing, especially when peeled and cut in portions for better convenience. For this reason quality attributes (i.e. appearance, texture, flavour, and nutritional value) degrade very fast and shelf life is often a matter of days or, in some cases, of weeks. For all these reasons fresh-cut produce represent a very interesting RTE food system where the need of improvements in terms of safety and quality is of paramount importance.
(M Vasconcelos participant)
Total financing: ~ 3 million Euros
The QUAFETY Project is co-funded by the European Commission through the 7th framework program, and involves 14 partners, of which 6 Universities, 2 R&D Institutions, and 6 SME (small and medium enterprises), from 7 different countries (Italy, United Kingdom, Israel, Poland, Netherlands, Portugal, Greece). Fresh-cut packaged fruit and vegetables sold in the market represent an underestimated public health risk due to the possible presence of pathogenic bacteria that are known to cause serious illness in the consumers. Another peculiarity of RTE (ready-to-eat) fresh F&V is that the food is constituted by living cell tissue, rapidly metabolizing, especially when peeled and cut in portions for better convenience. For this reason quality attributes (i.e. appearance, texture, flavour, and nutritional value) degrade very fast and shelf life is often a matter of days or, in some cases, of weeks. For all these reasons fresh-cut produce represent a very interesting RTE food system where the need of improvements in terms of safety and quality is of paramount importance.
2014-2015: CTRL-FLAV: New challenges on the control of Flavescence dorée in grapevine: exploiting genetic resources and the use of methyl jasmonate
Principal investigator: Susana Carvalho
Total financing: 45.203,00€
Flavescence dorée (FD) is an economically important grapevine disease in Europe which can lead to drastic yield losses and even to the death of the infected plants. This quarantine disease is caused by a phytoplasma, a plant phloem-limited pathogen, and it is transmitted to other plants by a leafhopper vector Scaphoideus titanus (Ball) or by contaminated root-stocks. In Portugal, this disease was first reported in 2006 and it was confined to two vineyards at ‘Vinho Verde’ wine production area. Until now, there is no treatment against flavescence dorée phytoplasma (FDp) and the control strategies are limited to the utilization of disease-free propagating material, pesticide application for vector control and eradication of the infected plants. As these strategies are difficult to implement, costly and have a high environmental impact, alternative strategies must be urgently developed. To this end, the exploitation of genetic FD tolerance and the induction of natural plant defences using natural elicitors, namely methyl jasmonate (MeJa), can be promising alternative approaches to control FD.
Principal investigator: Susana Carvalho
Total financing: 45.203,00€
Flavescence dorée (FD) is an economically important grapevine disease in Europe which can lead to drastic yield losses and even to the death of the infected plants. This quarantine disease is caused by a phytoplasma, a plant phloem-limited pathogen, and it is transmitted to other plants by a leafhopper vector Scaphoideus titanus (Ball) or by contaminated root-stocks. In Portugal, this disease was first reported in 2006 and it was confined to two vineyards at ‘Vinho Verde’ wine production area. Until now, there is no treatment against flavescence dorée phytoplasma (FDp) and the control strategies are limited to the utilization of disease-free propagating material, pesticide application for vector control and eradication of the infected plants. As these strategies are difficult to implement, costly and have a high environmental impact, alternative strategies must be urgently developed. To this end, the exploitation of genetic FD tolerance and the induction of natural plant defences using natural elicitors, namely methyl jasmonate (MeJa), can be promising alternative approaches to control FD.
2010-2013 IMPROVIRON: Improved productivity and iron nutrition in legume grains. PTDC/AGR-GPL/102861/2008
Principal Investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: 193.751,00€
Iron (Fe) is an essential nutrient for human and animal nutrition. However, iron deficiency affects nearly 30% of the world’s population, and it’s the most serious nutrient deficiency within all micronutrients, affecting primarily children and women of childbearing age. Legumes, such as soybean (Glycine max L.), pea (Pisum sativum), fava bean (Vicia faba L.) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), are important sources for nutrients in the human and animal diet, being particularly present in the Mediterranean diet as major source of protein and essential minerals. However, there are two important issues affecting iron nutrition in the legumes: one is the fact that plants are very susceptible to iron deficiency, when grown in low iron, calcareous soils.This type of soil represents around 30% of total arable soil in the world, and it is also a very serious and common problem that affects legume productivity in the European Union. The other important issue regarding iron nutrition in the legumes is more often than not, legume seeds do not contain enough amounts of iron to meet dietary daily requirements of iron in animals and humans. This project aims at unravelling the mechanisms that will enable us to address two major challenges concerning the legumes: i- Improve productivity in iron deficient soils; ii- Enhance iron nutrition in the grains
2012-2013 NEMARES:Cluster assessment on novel susceptibility traits of Pinus to Bursaphelenchus xylophilus: interpopulational genetic variability and the role of induced defenses. CRUP- Ação Integrada Luso espanhola, ref.ª E-169/12
Principal Investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: 10.990€
With this collaboration project, we aim to take advantage of a multidisciplinary equip with different methodological approximations and different scientific perspectives in order to improve our knowledge on the ecology of a extremely dangerous forest pathology, the pine wilt disease (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), that has been recently introduced in the Iberian Peninsula, generating very strong damage on pine stands and a dramatic phytosanitary alarm. Every advance in our knowledge on the biology of the aggressor and on the resistance of the host will be very helpful for optimizing transborder control and eradication programs of this problematic forest health problem.
2009-2014 A Biotechnological Answer to the Pine Wood Nematode. IFAP-FFP
Principal Investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: 973.392,00€
Our goal is to use high throughput large-scale parallel 454 pyrosequencing to obtain new information about the transcriptome of P. pinea and P. pinaster when infected with B. xylophilus, the causal agent of pine wilt disease (PWD). Our goal is also to understand the molecular basis for higher resistance of Stone pine (P. pinea) to the nematode, when compared to Maritime pine (P. pinaster). This strategy will provide a reliable system to examine specific genes in the plant that are up regulated at an early stage of infection (24 hours). These studies will allow us to identify resistance genes in P. pinea that can be used in a genetic transformation program geared towards creating resistant P. pinaster plants.These studies will lead to a better understanding of the molecular response of the pine trees to the infection and will enable the identification of new targets for nematode control. It will also allow us to underpin up regulated metabolic networks that are coordinately changed in response to infection. Furthermore, it will be a valuable resource for researchers working with this economically important plant and for any future genomic and trancriptomic projects on different Pine spp..
2012-2015 IDC: Unravelling the Molecular and Physiological Components that Contribute to Iron Deficiency Chlorosis PTDC/AGR-GPL/118772/2010
Principal Investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: 147.052,00€
The major goal of this project is to elucidate the molecular, physiological and morphological basis for tolerance to Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC), a topic that is very relevant to the improvement of world agriculture. Adequate plant iron nutrition and optimally regulated plant iron status are central to many aspects of plant growth and development, as well as to the iron concentration of harvested plant products (for human food or animal feed). Why is it important to study the mechanism of IDC? First, IDC is a serious environmental problem affecting the growth of crop plants in several regions in Portugal and in the world. Farmers have been trying to resolve this problem for many years, with only limited success. The only current strategy that has brought some relief has been the breeding and selection of less susceptible cultivars. Unfortunately, most cultivars are not adapted to every environmental situation. Secondly, it is important to study IDC because the basic physiological and molecular aspects that dictate the efficiency of a givencultivar to IDC have not yet been identified.
2012-2015 Characterization of the pinewood nematode / Pinus system: a phytochemical and histopathological approach FCT.
Participant
Total financing: 177.651€
Through this project - and since most chemical nematicides, for environmental reasons, have either been banned or are in a phasing out stage - alternative control methods to the Pinewood Nematode will be developed. In recent years, numerous studies regarding essential oils,produced from several plant species, have been evaluated for their natural nematicidal properties. Therefore, knowledge which has accumulated from the different partners involved in this proposal – UE (nematology, nematicidal activity of phytochemicals), FCUL (plant histology, essential oils, phytochemical analysis), ESB (volatile metabolomics, inoculation tests) – will be used in the study of the infection of PWN and evaluation of phytochemicals/volatiles capable of controlling, in an effective and safe way, thenematode and also the disease.
2012-2015 Wine Metrics: Revealing the Volatile Molecular Feature Responsible for the Wine Like Aroma-a Critical Task Toward Wine Quality Definition. PTDC/AGR-ALI/121062/2010
Participant
Total financing: 95.933€
2010-2012 Floresta.NET- redes Temáticas de Informação e Divulgação. PRODER
Participant
ESB financing: 22.500€
Principal Investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: 193.751,00€
Iron (Fe) is an essential nutrient for human and animal nutrition. However, iron deficiency affects nearly 30% of the world’s population, and it’s the most serious nutrient deficiency within all micronutrients, affecting primarily children and women of childbearing age. Legumes, such as soybean (Glycine max L.), pea (Pisum sativum), fava bean (Vicia faba L.) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), are important sources for nutrients in the human and animal diet, being particularly present in the Mediterranean diet as major source of protein and essential minerals. However, there are two important issues affecting iron nutrition in the legumes: one is the fact that plants are very susceptible to iron deficiency, when grown in low iron, calcareous soils.This type of soil represents around 30% of total arable soil in the world, and it is also a very serious and common problem that affects legume productivity in the European Union. The other important issue regarding iron nutrition in the legumes is more often than not, legume seeds do not contain enough amounts of iron to meet dietary daily requirements of iron in animals and humans. This project aims at unravelling the mechanisms that will enable us to address two major challenges concerning the legumes: i- Improve productivity in iron deficient soils; ii- Enhance iron nutrition in the grains
2012-2013 NEMARES:Cluster assessment on novel susceptibility traits of Pinus to Bursaphelenchus xylophilus: interpopulational genetic variability and the role of induced defenses. CRUP- Ação Integrada Luso espanhola, ref.ª E-169/12
Principal Investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: 10.990€
With this collaboration project, we aim to take advantage of a multidisciplinary equip with different methodological approximations and different scientific perspectives in order to improve our knowledge on the ecology of a extremely dangerous forest pathology, the pine wilt disease (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), that has been recently introduced in the Iberian Peninsula, generating very strong damage on pine stands and a dramatic phytosanitary alarm. Every advance in our knowledge on the biology of the aggressor and on the resistance of the host will be very helpful for optimizing transborder control and eradication programs of this problematic forest health problem.
2009-2014 A Biotechnological Answer to the Pine Wood Nematode. IFAP-FFP
Principal Investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: 973.392,00€
Our goal is to use high throughput large-scale parallel 454 pyrosequencing to obtain new information about the transcriptome of P. pinea and P. pinaster when infected with B. xylophilus, the causal agent of pine wilt disease (PWD). Our goal is also to understand the molecular basis for higher resistance of Stone pine (P. pinea) to the nematode, when compared to Maritime pine (P. pinaster). This strategy will provide a reliable system to examine specific genes in the plant that are up regulated at an early stage of infection (24 hours). These studies will allow us to identify resistance genes in P. pinea that can be used in a genetic transformation program geared towards creating resistant P. pinaster plants.These studies will lead to a better understanding of the molecular response of the pine trees to the infection and will enable the identification of new targets for nematode control. It will also allow us to underpin up regulated metabolic networks that are coordinately changed in response to infection. Furthermore, it will be a valuable resource for researchers working with this economically important plant and for any future genomic and trancriptomic projects on different Pine spp..
2012-2015 IDC: Unravelling the Molecular and Physiological Components that Contribute to Iron Deficiency Chlorosis PTDC/AGR-GPL/118772/2010
Principal Investigator: Marta Vasconcelos
Total financing: 147.052,00€
The major goal of this project is to elucidate the molecular, physiological and morphological basis for tolerance to Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC), a topic that is very relevant to the improvement of world agriculture. Adequate plant iron nutrition and optimally regulated plant iron status are central to many aspects of plant growth and development, as well as to the iron concentration of harvested plant products (for human food or animal feed). Why is it important to study the mechanism of IDC? First, IDC is a serious environmental problem affecting the growth of crop plants in several regions in Portugal and in the world. Farmers have been trying to resolve this problem for many years, with only limited success. The only current strategy that has brought some relief has been the breeding and selection of less susceptible cultivars. Unfortunately, most cultivars are not adapted to every environmental situation. Secondly, it is important to study IDC because the basic physiological and molecular aspects that dictate the efficiency of a givencultivar to IDC have not yet been identified.
2012-2015 Characterization of the pinewood nematode / Pinus system: a phytochemical and histopathological approach FCT.
Participant
Total financing: 177.651€
Through this project - and since most chemical nematicides, for environmental reasons, have either been banned or are in a phasing out stage - alternative control methods to the Pinewood Nematode will be developed. In recent years, numerous studies regarding essential oils,produced from several plant species, have been evaluated for their natural nematicidal properties. Therefore, knowledge which has accumulated from the different partners involved in this proposal – UE (nematology, nematicidal activity of phytochemicals), FCUL (plant histology, essential oils, phytochemical analysis), ESB (volatile metabolomics, inoculation tests) – will be used in the study of the infection of PWN and evaluation of phytochemicals/volatiles capable of controlling, in an effective and safe way, thenematode and also the disease.
2012-2015 Wine Metrics: Revealing the Volatile Molecular Feature Responsible for the Wine Like Aroma-a Critical Task Toward Wine Quality Definition. PTDC/AGR-ALI/121062/2010
Participant
Total financing: 95.933€
2010-2012 Floresta.NET- redes Temáticas de Informação e Divulgação. PRODER
Participant
ESB financing: 22.500€
