Intermediate project results [outlook 2024]
In WP1, we will refine the existing model to simulate photosynthesis under varying temperatures and humidity. In WP3, we will work on the generation and screening of advanced-track potato and rice plants combining two or more different strategies in a single line. In addition, comprehensive characterisation of elite potato and rice plants under different conditions, e.g., heat/drought stress and nitrogen depletion) will be performed in the greenhouse and on the field in terms of photosynthetic performance, tuber yield and primary photosynthetic metabolites.
Reaching out to farmers in Asia [summer 2023]
Our project partner Jonathan Menary from Oxford University has travelled to the Philippines and Bangladesh to network and engage with farmers. There is a need to connect downstream farm system actors with upstream photosynthesis research. Therefore, PhotoBoost collaborates with partners and international organisations to engage farmers, advisors, regulators and researchers in both Europe and Asia.
Project meeting in Lleida, Spain [summer 2023]
From 26th to 27th of June, 2023, the PhotoBoost project consortium got together in Lleida, Spain. It was the first time since the beginning of the project in 2020 that the project team was able to meet in person. It were two exiting days for everyone during which the project partners had the opportunity to share news on their latest activities and results from their work packages and exchange on both a professional as well as on a personal level.
Intermediate project results [mid-2023]
In the third year of the Photoboost project significant progress was made towards the project’s final goals. Adaptation of metabolic models improved the understanding of the role of different key enzymes as targets for further optimization to boost photosynthetic yields. Initial results from fast-track potato lines grown in the greenhouse, show increased photosynthetic efficiency and yield improvements of up to 44%. Based on these results field trials for fast track potato lines as well as cloning of advanced track constructs for potato and rice transformation were initiated. Taken together these results demonstrate that the project is on an excellent way to reach its initial goal of developing and implementing strategies to boost the productivity and performance of essential crops like potatoes and rice.
Intermediate project results [mid-2022]
On the way to achieve the goal of the Photoboost, which is to project to develop and implement strategies to boost the productivity and performance of essential crops like potatoes and rice, the project partners have made good progress during the first reporting period. Various objectives, including the generation of several multi-gene expression constructs, the development of a photosynthetically active cell-free system and initial transformation of potato and rice plants, were achieved. The following list briefly summarises the progress made for each of the six distinct work packages.
Intermediate project results [November 2021]
The United Nations estimates that food production needs to double by 2050 to meet the needs of a continuously growing global population – and an increasing demand for food, while, at the same time, agricultural land and resources are growing scarce due to the expansion of urban areas and climate change. Therefore, the EU project PhotoBoost aims to develop strategies to boost the productivity and performance of essential crops like potatoes and rice. Since its launch in April 2020, the eight international partners have been implementing said strategies within the different work packages (WPs).