Palacký University Centre for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research is a collaborative project of the Faculty of Science at Palacký University and the Olomouc branches of the Institute of Experimental Botany at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the Crop Research Institute. More than 130 scientists, 20 % of whom come from abroad, carry out research in the following key programmes:
- Protein Biochemistry and Proteomics
- Plant Bioenergetics
- Chemical Biology
- Plant Biotechnology
- Cell and Developmental Plant Biology:
- Plant Genetics and Genomics
- Genetic Resources of Vegetables and Special Crops
- Metabolomics
Research commences at the molecular level and is finalised in field experiments. The achievements of the Centre include improvement of useful properties of barley by means of genetic modification. Transgenic barley is further used in molecular farming. The Centre also obtained a U.S. patent for the newly prepared compound INCYDE derived from plant hormones, which is supposed to increase crop yield and has met with interest in the commercial sector. The research team led by Prof Jaroslav Doležel made a substantial contribution to the international project of wheat genome sequencing. Plant biologists and cultivators thus obtained a tool for cultivation of a cereal grain which is the second main food crop in the world. Professor Doležel, Scientific Director of the Centre, was awarded the Czech Ministry of Education Award for Outstanding Results in Research, Experimental Development and Innovations.
