Final Activity Report Summary - INTEGRAL (Intensifying Training in Europe for Genomic Research Activity on Legumes)
Sustainable methods of feeding the worlds growing population require an integrated approach for human food production taking into account the general depletion of phosphate fertiliser sources and the enormous use of fossil energy for nitrogen fertiliser. Plants benefit from interacting with symbiotic bacteria and fungi, which improve their phosphate and nitrogen supply, and their interactions are the foundation of sustainable agriculture.
The INTEGRAL project provided research on two particularly relevant symbioses, namely the arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis to improve phosphate and other nutrient uptake from soil, and the root nodule symbiosis of legumes to allow plants to use atmospheric nitrogen and, thus, escape the need for nitrogen fertiliser, produced through the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. Both these symbioses were extremely important for sustainable agriculture. Arbuscular mycorrhiza lowered the required phosphate input because the fertiliser was used more efficiently and less was wasted. This was very important considering the environmental damage caused by phosphate mining and its by-products. It also helped plants to cope with environmental stresses like droughts, which represented an increasingly important factor in case global warming was taken into account.
The INTEGRAL project offered a broad-based education for the students on its programme. The students received specialist training in cell biology, metabolism, molecular biology and genetics. Furthermore, they had the additional advantage of being able to form networks and relationships within the INTEGRAL community. The students also benefited from workshops and exchanges between labs for a fixed period of time in order to learn special techniques, such as transformation, molecular genetics or advanced light microscopy. This was enormously important in broadening their knowledge base. Finally, INTEGRAL members were engaged in intensive scientific exchanges across the globe.
The INTEGRAL project provided research on two particularly relevant symbioses, namely the arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis to improve phosphate and other nutrient uptake from soil, and the root nodule symbiosis of legumes to allow plants to use atmospheric nitrogen and, thus, escape the need for nitrogen fertiliser, produced through the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. Both these symbioses were extremely important for sustainable agriculture. Arbuscular mycorrhiza lowered the required phosphate input because the fertiliser was used more efficiently and less was wasted. This was very important considering the environmental damage caused by phosphate mining and its by-products. It also helped plants to cope with environmental stresses like droughts, which represented an increasingly important factor in case global warming was taken into account.
The INTEGRAL project offered a broad-based education for the students on its programme. The students received specialist training in cell biology, metabolism, molecular biology and genetics. Furthermore, they had the additional advantage of being able to form networks and relationships within the INTEGRAL community. The students also benefited from workshops and exchanges between labs for a fixed period of time in order to learn special techniques, such as transformation, molecular genetics or advanced light microscopy. This was enormously important in broadening their knowledge base. Finally, INTEGRAL members were engaged in intensive scientific exchanges across the globe.