GenTree: Optimising the management and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe
IGA's commitment to innovative solutions in agriculture extends to forestry.
The goal of GenTree is to provide the European forestry sector with better knowledge, methods and tools for optimising the management and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in the context of climate change and in response to evolving demands for forest products and services. To this end, GenTree will
- design innovative strategies for dynamic conservation of genetic resources in European forests
- broaden the range of genetic resources available to European breeding programmes
- define new forest management scenarios and policy frameworks to adapt forests and forestry to changing environmental conditions and societal demands
GenTree focuses on economically and ecologically important tree species in Europe, growing in a wide range of habitats and covering different societal uses and values. The expected output will include: new knowledge on phenotypic and genotypic diversity across environmental gradients in Europe, data collection and curation for information systems of in-situ and ex-situ genetic collections; innovative strategies for conservation, breeding and exchange of forest reproductive material.
With its subsidiary IGA Technology Services, IGA has genotyped 576 accessions of Betula pendula, 720 of Fagus sylvatica, 624 of Picea abies, 624 of Pinus pinaster, 624 of Pinus sylvestris, 574 of Populus nigra and 572 of Quercus petraea using the in-house developed SPET targeted sequencing.
Funded by EU Horizon 2020 - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy
Status: GenTree current project