Consortium:
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Croatia
According to the FAZ mission statement, as the oldest (founded in 1919) and leading national institution of its kind, it is committed to creation and distribution of knowledge based on own research work. In cooperation with private and public sector, either in Croatia or abroad, FAZ actively contributes to generation of knowledge and technology in life and environmental sciences, and particularly in the fields of agriculture, food, ecology, rural development and landscape management. Currently, more than 1,800 students are studying at FAZ supported by total number of 442 employees with 245 out of them being academics. As a higher education and research institution with long and fruitful tradition, FAZ has 24 different laboratories, seven experiment stations and one research centre used for teaching, research and technical activities. The annual revenue in 2008 was 109,860.00 HRK (nearly 15 million EUR) in which revenue from the budget participates with 73%. FAZ has 28 departments covering almost all fields of agricultural sciences. The Department of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biometrics has 8 researchers (4 professors, 3 associate professors and 1 assistant professors) and 8 PhD students, all together running several national and international research projects. It used to be a founder of the plant genetics and still keeps the reputation of the leader in the field of plant genetics and breeding in the WBC area. The current research targets are ranging from genetic resources management over improvement of the classical (recurrent selection and breeding on abiotic stresses) and molecular breeding methods (MAS). During last 10 years Department staff is devoted toward problems of Vitis genetic resources and clonal selection of the indigenous grapevine cultivars. The FAZ is voluntarily participating a large EU consortium on grapevine germplasm management (GrapeGen06). The Department is equipped with experimental field station and research facility, as well as modern lab for molecular genetics analyses (PCR, tissue culture equipment, genetic analyzer ABI 3130, etc.). In addition, the collaborating Department of Viticulture and Enology has the largest national ex-situ grapevine collection, as well as ampelographic lab and experimental wine cellar with advanced equipment for microvinifications. Besides the project coordinator, Professor Ivan Pejic, in this project will also participate Prof. Dr. Edi Maletic, expert for ampelography and wine technology (http://www.agr.unizg.hr/eng/curriculum/maletic_edi.htm), as well as full-time PhD student or professional associate (M.Sc. level) with appropriate experience and technical skills who is planned to be hired and paid by this project. Also, Dr. Goran Zdunic (Institute of Adriatic Crops and Carst Amelioration, Split) is willing to participate voluntarily as an external expert and advisor for Dalmatian varieties (http://bib.irb.hr/lista-radova?autor=263482).
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Division of Viticulture and Pomology, Austria
The University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, the Alma Mater Viridis, sees itself as an education and research centre for renewable resources, which are a necessity for human life. With its wide range of areas of expertise it is the task of BOKU to contribute significantly to the protection of life resources for future generations. With a connection between natural sciences, engineering and economics, BOKU is trying to deepen the knowledge of an ecologically and economically sustainable use of natural resources in a cultivated landscape. The department´s area of research and teaching covers a wide range of topics from basic molecular biology, cell biology, plant biotechnology and applied plant sciences. Our aim is to form an ambitious and integrative research profil and to offer high level teaching in plant sciences and related fields.
The groups working in the field of viticulture research in the fields of:
• Grapevine breeding: studying intravarietal diversity and clonal genomics of Vitis vinifera cultivars by molecular genetic techniques and studying the molecular basis of phylloxera susceptibility.
• Grapevine physiology: studying the molecular basis of „physiological disorders“ in grapevine and search for strategies to combat them.
• Sustainable Viticulture: developing tools for quality management in vineyards (Physiological Fingerprint) and search for Biomarker via metabolomic profiling. Apart from performing research the Viticulture groups are involved in teaching in the Bachelor and Master programs of Viticulture, Horticulture and Agronomy. Besides the project leader, Professor Astrid Forneck (http://www.viticulture-research.com/), in this project will also participate Dr. Ulrike CM Anhalt, expert in plant breeding and genetic diversity of plants, Dipl. Ing. Roland Dudda, expert in germplasm collection and viticulture, Mrs. Sigrid Hensler, a technician with experience in DNA fingerprinting techniques, as well as students and technicians with experience in molecular genetics and PCR-techniques.
Geisenheim Research Center, Section for Grapevine Breeding & Grafting, Germany
The breeding activities of the Research Center go back to the end of the 19th century with the development of early grapevine rootstocks and the breeding of the variety Mueller-Thurgau. Today Geisenheim is on of the leading places for grapevine breeding in Germany and Europe. Major objectives are:
• the development of completely phylloxera resistant rootstocks with a high adaptation to a wide range of soil types
• clonal selection of traditional German varieties e.g. Riesling, Pinot and related cultivars
• ensuring the supply of German grape growers with high performing virus-tested propagation material
• the preservation of the genetic diversity within traditional Central European varieties.
To insure the health and quality of its varieties and clones, the section commenced research in detection and elimination of virus diseases in grapevines in the mid 1980s, which is still a major stake in clonal development. In recent years studying the viticultural and enological performance of rootstock and clones has become a major field of investigation together with molecular genetic studies to identify valuable traits. The Grapevine Breeding & Grafting Section is registered breeder of 25 varieties and 191 clones and supervises the production of virus-free propagation material on close to 350 ha of motherblocks. Apart from these activities, the section assists clonal breeders in several countries, e.g. Georgia and Croatia, in the development of virus-free clones of traditional local varieties. Besides the project leader, Dr. Ernst Rühl, in this project will also participate Dr. Rudolf Ries, expert in virology, Dipl. Ing. Huber Konrad, expert in germplasm collection and clone development, as well as students and technicians with experience in virus testing.
Univerity of Montenegro, Biotechnical Faculty, Montenegro
The heritage of the Biotechnical faculty (BTF) dates back to 1937 when Research Station for Southern Cultures in Bar was established, and to the fifties when five additional research stations were established. Very soon after that (in 1960), all of them were merged into Institute of Agriculture, lately renamed to the Biotechnical Institute in 1997 and since 2008 constituted as Biotechnical Faculty. The recent openness of the Montenegrin society and economy, since 2000, has had a positive impact on BTF’s activities. Connecting with partner institutions in the Balkan region and with EU Member States and involvement of the BTF in the ERA has increased. The BTF is a member of the University of Montenegro, with the longest research tradition in the country (70 years). The BTF engages 170 employees in total, 31 researchers with PhD, and 13 with Master degree
(see website: www.btf.ac.me). The mission of the BTF is to be backbone of the institutional support to the agricultural sector by performing three types of activities: a) Research, b) Higher education, c) Services (the extension and laboratory services). The research component of the BTF is the oldest one in the whole Montenegrin science society. Department for viticulture, enology and fruit growing, is one of 10 scientific units of BTF. Center possess own wine laboratory, experimental field with collection of about 500 grapevine varieties (Registered at the International Register of the plant gene bank in the International Office for grapevine and wine for Genus Vitis under the number YU 03-Podgorica), and wine cellar. Department has 8 employees of which 5 have PhD and 1 MSc degree. The main field of work in this Department is research on: introduced varieties, grapevine breeding (20 new table grape varieties have been created and approved in the Institute), genetic resources of grapevine, clonal selection of two major autochthonous varieties Kratosija and Vranac, Currently, the active work in viticulture is on the following national project: ‘Influence of different vinification methods on polyphenol content and
quality of red wine ’Vranac’’ and regional project: South Eastern European Network for plant genetic resources (SEEDNet). Besides the project leader, Dr. Vesna Maras, in this project will also participate Dr. Biljana Lazovic, senior researcher and teacher on the 'Fruit and grape breeding' course; MSc. Miroslav Cizmovic, associate researcher in subtropical culture and full-time PhD student or professional associate (MSc level) with appropriate experience and technical skills who is planned to be hired and paid by this project.