VIB is an independent research institute that translates insights in biology into impactful innovations for society. Collaborating with the five Flemish universities, it conducts research in plant biology, cancer, neuroscience, microbiology, inflammatory diseases, artifical intelligence and more. VIB connects science with entrepreneurship and stimulates the growth of the Flemish biotech ecosystem. The institute contributes to solutions for societal challenges such as new methods for diagnostics and treatments, as well as innovations for agriculture. Learn more at www.vib.be.

VIB is an independent research institute that translates insights in biology into impactful innovations for society. Collaborating with the five...

VIB is een onafhankelijk onderzoeksinstituut dat inzichten in de biologie vertaalt naar impactvolle innovaties voor de samenleving. Het werkt samen met de vijf Vlaamse universiteiten en diverse partners in de biotechsector en doet onderzoek in plantenbiologie, kanker, neurowetenschap, microbiologie, ontstekingsziekten, artificiële intelligentie en meer. VIB verbindt wetenschap met ondernemerschap en stimuleert zo de groei van de Vlaamse biotech. Het instituut draagt bij aan oplossingen voor maatschappelijke uitdagingen, zoals nieuwe methoden voor diagnose en behandeling en landbouwinnovaties. Meer info op www.vib.be. 

VIB is een onafhankelijk onderzoeksinstituut dat inzichten in de biologie vertaalt naar impactvolle innovaties voor de samenleving. Het werkt...

Joran Lauwers

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Leuven/Ghent, 08 Febuary 2024 – Belgian researchers from VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology and VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology have developed a new toolbox of 16 different short DNA sequences that allow triggering controlled and specific recombination events in any genome. This new patented toolbox, complementing – and for certain applications surpassing – CRISPR, is now available for researchers and industry in the field of genome engineering. The results are reported today in two concurrent papers in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

A new toolbox allows engineering genomes without CRISPR

Leuven/Ghent, 08 Febuary 2024 – Belgian researchers from VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology and VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology...

Ghent, 01/02/2024 – Much has been written about the European Climate law and the European Nitrate Directive. Besides social concerns, drastically reducing greenhouse gasses by 2030 and structurally lowering the use of nitrogen in agriculture poses significant challenges. Researchers from the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology now present concrete research results to lower nitrogen usage by targeting microorganisms in the soil. Their findings have been published in various scientific journals.

Belgian researchers provide a strong boost to sustainable agriculture 

Ghent, 01/02/2024 – Much has been written about the European Climate law and the European Nitrate Directive. Besides social concerns, drastically...

New tools, including a deep learning model, predict the functionality of proteins, even in non-model organisms

Deep learning helps to find new targets in soy for crop improvement

Ghent, 3 August 2023 – Crop genetic diversity is a powerful tool to adapt crops to a changing climate. However, to select the best candidates in the plant breeding process, we must know and understand the complex biochemical networks underlying plant growth and development. To achieve this, researchers from the North Carolina State University (USA), the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology and ILVO (Belgium) have developed tools, including a deep learning model, that predict the functionality of proteins, even in non-model organisms. This represents a significant advance in systems biology and provides more reliable predictions on which locations to target in the genome. The work appears in Nature Communications.

The cell cycle inhibitor SIAMESE-RELATED1 (SMR1) plays a crucial role in how leaves adapt to the environment

VIB researchers uncover key genetic pathway in leaf development 

The surface of a leaf is composed of diverse cell types that are remarkably well-balanced and organized. The team of Prof. Lieven De Veylder (VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology) and colleagues from the University of Sheffield have made a significant breakthrough in understanding the development of leaf epidermis. The study, published in Nature Plants, could pave the way to more climate-resilient plants.

New research discovers how plant hormones called brassinosteroids affect gene expression and plant growth

Hormones and plant growth

Hormones play an important role in the development of plants. Scientists have long known that networks of genes control cell development, but it has been difficult to untangle the complex relationships between hormones, cell identity, and developmental stage. Now, the team of Eugenia Russinova (VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology), together with international colleagues from Philip Benfey’s lab at Duke University (US), Iowa State University (US), University of British Columbia (Canada), and Humboldt Universitat zu Berlin (Germany), made great strides in understanding the relationship between plant hormones and gene regulatory networks. Their work appears in Science.

VIB scientists develop ITER, a sensitive, versatile, and high-throughput method to test and quantify gene editing in plant cells

Building better base editors

CRISPR gene editing is a powerful biotechnology tool that allows scientists to alter specific DNA sequences. New research is constantly refining and improving CRISPR technology. Researchers from the team of Prof. Thomas Jacobs (VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology), together with BASF Innovation Center Gent and colleagues from the VIB screening Core and VIB Flow Core, now report an important advance in CRISPR base editing technology. Their work was funded by VLAIO and appears in Genome Biology.

Researchers at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology developed a pipeline based on genome editing to accelerate gene discovery for breeding programs to improve agronomic traits in crops.

Just BREEDIT – bridging the gap between conventional breeding and molecular biology

Agriculture faces major challenges – reducing yield losses during extended periods of heat and drought, to name one. To sustain food production, we must adapt our crops to rapidly changing climate conditions. But conventional breeding programs are labor-intensive and time-consuming. Scientists at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology and ILVO developed a fast gene discovery pipeline in maize to advance breeding programs for the benefit of humanity and the environment.

Researchers identified a mechanism to extend the fertile period of maize flowers, which could lead to increased yield in climate stress conditions.

Staying alive – delaying floral aging improves seed set in maize

To produce fruits and seeds, plants need to be fertilized in a narrow time frame during which the flower is receptive to viable pollen. In crops, excessive heat and drought stress can negatively impact fertilization causing a reduction in seed yield. Collaborative research between the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology and Corteva AgriscienceTM identified a key regulatory mechanism to prolong female fertility in maize. This knowledge may become an important asset to stabilizing seed production for maize, and potentially for other cereal crops growing in changing climate conditions caused by global warming.

Plant Biology