SciLifeLab part of a major grant in forest genetic research

The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation is investing over a 100 million SEK in research on tree genes, forest genetics and forest biotechnology. The project is a collaboration between SLU and SciLifeLab in Uppsala and Stockholm.

The project focus on genomics and forest genetics and builds on a previous grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation which resulted in the first ever mapping of a genome of a conifer tree, namely the Norway spruce. The current project is coordinated by Ove Nilsson at SLU and, as representative of SciLifeLab, Ulf Gyllensten at UU, and will be performed at SLU, Umeå University and SciLifeLab Uppsala and Stockholm.

The aim of project is to generate a new, greatly improved, genome sequence for Norway spruce and, for the first time determine the genome of Scots pine. Subsequently, the genome for about individual 1000 trees will be studied in order to identify the genes that regulate growth rate and wood quality. This knowledge will be used in forest tree breeding to increase productivity. SciLifeLab is responsible for determining the forest trees genomes and performing bioinformatic analyzes of these data. 

Read a news article from SLU
Read a press release from The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (in Swedish)