The Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC, Sweden) and the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE, France) signed a cooperation agreement in 2005 and created a virtual "European Open Laboratory" (EOL) called UPRA. This agreement was renewed in 2009. The dedicated complementarities of both research centres in different topics of experimental plant biology and plant genomics naturally led to the creation of this European open laboratory. In 2015, the UPRA opened to the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG, Barcelona, Spain) which already had collaborations with laboratories from the division of Plant Biology and Breeding (BAP) and of Forest, Grassland and Freshwater Ecology (EFPA) - now called division of Ecology and Biodiversity (ECODIV) - and a trilateral agreement was signed. The UPRA became INUPRAG, a contraction of INRAE, UPSC and CRAG. The trilateral agreement was renewed in 2020.
One goal of this cooperation is to bring together researchers for joint research projects in plant sciences. This involves in particular the transfer of knowledge and tools developed with model species such as Arabidopsis or Poplar to crops and trees. Another objective is to promote the training of young scientists through regular exchanges between the partner laboratories and enable them to develop their networks.
More information about the INUPRAG partners:
- The Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) is a research centre in Umeå (Sweden) where research of both basic and strategic importance is conducted. Research at UPSC covers a wide range of disciplines in plant biology including ecology, genetics, physiology, biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology. The work at UPSC is carried out at all organization levels of the plant with a common goal to understand the plant as a complex organism in dynamic interaction with its environment. UPSC hosts close to 200 employees and 35 principal investigators, representing more than 40 nationalities. The main affiliations of the research groups are the Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University and the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). For more information please visit https://www.upsc.se.
- The laboratories of the INRAE division of Plant Biology and Breeding (BAP) have the mission to carry out research in plant sciences and plant breeding. The research focuses on many aspects of plants: from genes and genomes to plant development (from seed to the whole plant level, including plant products) and interaction with the biotic and abiotic environment during different stages of their life cycle, and from genetic diversity to plant breeding. The laboratories belonging to this division have a long-standing expertise in the field of plant biology, including genomics, genetics, breeding, metabolism, cell biology and development both on model plants such as Arabidopsis and crop plants as well as fruit trees. The laboratories from the Division BAP have established an internationally recognized reputation in plant molecular genetics and have contributed to the development of several innovative tools for plant functional genomics. For more information please visit https://www.inrae.fr/en/divisions/bap.
- The main objectives of the laboratories from the INRAE division of Ecology and Biodiversity (ECODIV) are to produce knowledge on forest, grassland and aquatic ecosystem functioning, on species interactions and adaptation of organisms and populations to their environment. The aim is to contribute to defining and developing methods/strategies for the sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems and to enlighten public policies on topics related to global change. They have long-standing experience in genetics, development, physiology and ecology of forest trees and associated organisms such as e.g. pathogenic and symbiotic fungi. For more information please visit https://www.inrae.fr/en/divisions/ecodiv.
- The Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) is an independent organization established as a Consortium of four main Spanish research institutions: the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), and University of Barcelona (UB). The Center is devoted to leading-edge research in the molecular basis of genetic characters of interest in plants and farm animals and in the applications of molecular approaches for breeding of species important for agriculture and food production. Research at CRAG spans from basic science to applied studies in close collaboration with industry and is organized in four Research Programs: Plant Development and Signal Transduction, Plant Responses to Stress, Plant Metabolism and Metabolic Engineering, and Plant and Animal Genomics. For more information please visit https://www.cragenomica.es.