Genius

The mission of international farming is to ensure food security while replacing fossil fuels, reducing its environmental impact and adapting to climate change. While France and some European countries are addressing the genetic aspect of this challenge through genomic-only selection, a growing number of major agricultural countries are turning to transgenesis to expand the pool of available genes. Furthermore, transgenesis is already an indispensable technology for French scientists and seed breeders to remain competitive at the global level.

Recent advances in transgenesis now offer answers to some concerns raised by citizens. In particular, the emergence of nuclease technology now makes it possible to alter plant genomes with very high accuracy. In this context, it is a strategic priority to maintain a high level of transgenesis expertise, to participate actively in the debate about these new technologies and to demonstrate their applicability and their value in a large number of cultivated species. The project, coordinated by the Plant Reproduction and Development joint research unit (UMR RDP) at INRA Lyons, will provide French scientists and breeders with cutting-edge expertise, along with the corresponding biological material and intellectual property, and will pave the way for high-throughput functional genomics capable of meeting the challenges that must be overcome. The biological material produced will either be taken directly to the seed market or optimised upstream. The technical information and ethical framework presented to French citizens and legislators could, in time, lead to an easing of the regulatory burden for experts and applicants. To achieve these objectives, the GENIUS project will bring together 15 public and private partners, including 9 public research units that work in the life sciences and social sciences and 6 private sector companies that specialise in breeding and biotechnology. This consortium will create synergies and reorganise entities – until now were focused on a single species or scope of application – into a real community united by a common technical objective. The 8-year project started on 1 September 2012. It will receive total funding in the amount of €21.3 million (including an ANR grant for €6 million).

Contact information :
Coordinator : Peter Rogowsky – peter.rogowsky@ens-lyon.fr
Project manager : Laure Trannoy – laure.trannoy@inra.fr
www.genius-project.fr