Plant.ID, a research project led by Associate Professor Hugo de Boer at the Natural History Museum Oslo (NHM), is granted 40 million NOK from the European Union over the next four years. The project aims to develop innovative expertise relating to the identification and management of plant resources in the future.
Genetic barcodes
Plants represent some of our most important biological resources and provide us with both food, medicines and construction materials.
However, the current extinction threat faced by many plants species, in combination with taxonomic expertise in decline, demands accurate and rapid identification of plant species for the conservation of botanical biodiversity.
Due to rapid advances in DNA sequencing technology, plants can now precisely be identified from their DNA through methods that were unavailable only a decade ago. By utilizing these techniques, Plant.ID aims at training a new generation of researchers with knowledge relevant for addressing issues related to plants in the modern world.
Large-scale collaboration
The funding comes from the European Union’s Excellent Science program Horizon 2020 (Marie Skłodowska Curie Action Innovative Training Network), the largest research and innovation program of the EU. Plant.ID is the sole University of Oslo led project that is funded from this program in 2017.
The project originated from the research group Plant Evolution and DNA Metabarcoding (PET) at NHM, but includes a total of 27 domestic and international partners. The funding lasts for four years and will finance 15 PhD fellowships.