VIB / Ghent University. (8/11/10). "Press Release: VIB and UGent Researchers Identify Key Mechanims of Cell Division of Plants. New Technology Can Be Applied to Boost Crop Yields". Ghent.

	Region	Gent (Ghent)
	Country	Belgium
	Organisation	Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB)
	Organisation 2	University of Antwerp
	Product	Tandem Affinity Purification (TAP) technology platform
	Product 2	plant proteomics
	Index term	Ghent Univ–Univ Antwerp: TAP technology, 2006–201008 collab use of TAP techn to map A. thaliana cell division UGent + UA + VIB
	Person	De Jaeger, Geert (Ghent Univ 1997– + VIB 2002– Principle Investigator)
	Person 2	Witters, Erwin (Univ Antwerp 201008 Dept of Biology)

Scientists from VIB and Ghent University have developed a technology that may contribute to the increase of crop yields in agriculture. The technology platform based on ‘Tandem Affinity Purification (TAP)’ was developed to map the basic machinery of cell division in plants much faster than possible with existing techniques. The results of the research, which are published in the prestigious scientific journal Molecular Systems Biology, were obtained through close collaboration with researchers from the University of Antwerp. In the future, this new platform might prove to be an important tool in plant research.

Cell division is the key to increase agricultural yield

As a result of the worldwide growing population, the output of agricultural crops has to double by 2050. To address this challenge, the world needs new varieties of plants, with higher yield per hectare than current varieties. „The major driving force behind plant growth is cell division,“ says Geert De Jaeger, group leader at VIB and Ghent University. „If you understand the machinery that governs this process, you have the key to increase agricultural yield.“

Four years and 300 experiments

The research, which took four years and more than 300 experiments to complete, was conducted by Jelle Van Leene and colleagues from De Jaeger.s team, together with Erwin Witters of the University of Antwerp. The researchers have now published the complete map of the machinery behind cell division in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. During their experiments, the researchers discovered more than 100 new proteins involved in the process.

TAP: a combination of transgenic technology, protein purification, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics

Many proteins with an essential role in the cell cycle of plants have been revealed by the global sequencing projects of recent years. Until now, little was known about the interactions between these proteins, the actual core of the machinery. The newly developed .Tandem Affinity Purification (TAP) Platform. allows researchers to quickly unravel the interactions between the proteins involved. TAP requires a multidisciplinary approach, combining transgenic technology, protein purification, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics.

Note to the editor

1. For more information: Joris Gansemans, Press officer VIB +32 9 244 66 11

2. Relevant scientific publication The results of this research have been published in the leading journal Molecular Systems Biology (Van Leene et al., Targeted interactomics reveals a complex core cell cycle machinery in Arabidopsis thaliana): www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/msb.2010.53.

3. Financing This research was partially funded by IWT, FWO-Vlaanderen, Belspo, the European Commission, IUAP, UGent and VIB

4. Mention VIB and universities Please always mention VIB, Ghent University and the University of Antwerp when reporting about this research

5. VIB is a non-profit research institute in the life sciences in Flanders, Belgium. About 1200 scientists conduct strategic basic research on the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the functioning of the human body, plants, and micro-organisms. Through a partnership with four Flemish universities – Ghent University, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the University of Antwerp, and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel - and a solid funding program, VIB unites the forces of 72 research groups in a single institute. Through its technology transfer activities, VIB strives to convert the research results into products for the benefit of consumers and patients. VIB develops and disseminates a wide range of scientifically substantiated information about all aspects of biotechnology. www.vib.be.

6. Ghent University: After more than twenty years of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is now one of the most important institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries. Ghent University yearly attracts over 30,000 students, with a foreign student population of over 2,200 EU and non-EU citizens. Ghent University offers a broad range of study programs in all academic and scientific fields. With a view to cooperation in research and community service, numerous research groups, centers and institutes have been founded over the years. www.UGent.be

7. This research was conducted by Jelle Van Leene and colleagues under supervision of Geert De Jaeger in the VIB Department of Plant Systems Biology, UGent. www.vib.be/Research/EN/Research+Departments/Department+of+Plant+Systems+Biology/Geert+De+Jaeger

Record changed: 2011-11-25

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VIB / Ghent University. (8/11/10). "Press Release: VIB and UGent Researchers Identify Key Mechanims of Cell Division of Plants. New Technology Can Be Applied to Boost Crop Yields". Ghent.