Other COST actions of potential interest

1. Other COST actions of potential interest Åke Strid Örebro University

2. Other COST actions - Food and agriculture

3. Other COST actions - Food and agriculture

4. Other COST actions - Food and agriculture

5. Other COST actions – Forests, their Products and Services (FPS)

6. FA Action FA0602Bioactive Food Components, Mitochondrial Function and Health End date: May 2011 Good functional mitochondria are essential for a healthy organism and dysfunction leads to disease. The performance of mitochondria can be influenced by diet and dietary components. This provides opportunities for the improvement of human health and represents development opportunities for the food industry and science. Despite its importance world-wide, research in this area is extremely limited. This COST action will set up a structure to bring the mitochondrial research community and the nutrition research community together and build an integrated European research community aimed at understanding the interdependency between bioactive food components and mitochondrial function. Better understanding of this interaction may lead to important economic and social benefits by improving health, boosting industrial innovation and sustaining European competitiveness in this field.

7. Plants, as all other living organisms depend on proteins to perform most of their vital functions. The name protein comes from the Greek πρώτα ("prota"), meaning "of primary importance". Proteins are the functional molecules that drive metabolic and regulatory pathways in a cell. Proteomics, i.e. the large-scale analysis of proteins in biological systems at a certain time point, aims to identify all proteins present and to characterize their qualitative and quantitative modifications, for example in response to environmental changes. Proteomics is a relatively recent technology currently undergoing fast development and growth, logically complementing the genomic and transcriptomic studies as well as the other emerging field of metabolomics. Although protocols have been developed to perform proteomic analysis in the human, animal and microbial domains of life, the plant kingdom still awaits a systematic approach for proteome analysis. This proposal aims to build up expertise in plant proteomics through an integrated network of European scientists. Tools for proteome analysis in fundamental and applied plant research areas will be developed and shared, to generate fundamental information about plant metabolism, investigate responses to environmental constraints and assess food quality. This proposal will also increase public understanding for new technologies, critical for further development by the industry. FA Action FA0603Plant Proteomics in Europe (EUPP) End date: May 2011

8. FA Action FA0605Signaling Control of Stress Tolerance and Production of Stress Protective Compounds in Plants End date: December 2011 Unravelling signalling steps and metabolic pathways controlling abiotic stress tolerance of plants, provides essential tools for coping with the accumulating negative effects of climate changes in breeding, agriculture and environmental protection. Improvement of efficacy of plant stress tolerance is essential for successful combating salinization, frost damage and desertification in European and also in other non-COST participating countries. Drought, salt and cold tolerance traits of crops are controlled by biological regulatory mechanisms governing the production of highly effective stress-protecting metabolites, including polyamines and proline. The major goal of this COST proposal is to stimulate cutting-edge collaborative research towards understanding the regulatory mechanisms of abiotic stress signalling pathways leading to the production of major stress-protective plant compounds. By stimulating scientific exchange among molecular geneticists, biochemists, plant physiologists and breeders, the network program aims at the identification of key regulators of plant abiotic stress responses and their essential stress-protective end-targets.

9. FA Action FA0802Feed for Health End date: June 2012 As in human nutrition, concepts in animal nutrition are changing. Optimal nutrition is now considered fundamental whereas in the past adequate nutrition was considered sufficient. Optimal nutrition implies that feeds must be considered not only in terms of their nutritional properties but also in terms of their ability to promote health and protect against disease. The health of the animal is fundamental in determining the quality, safety and wholesomeness of foods of animal origin for human consumption. This COST action creates a research network concerned with: the role of animal nutrition in improving animal health; the role of animal nutrition in designing functional foods for humans; and the development of the concepts of feed safety, feed quality and feed functionality, as counterparts of these ideas as they are currently applied foods for humans. The main task of the network will be to promote the acquisition and facilitate the dissemination of knowledge in these areas and encourage cooperation between various groups working in the area.

10. FA Action FA0802Feed for Health End date: June 2012 • The mainobjective of this action is to strengthenexistingnetworks in order to developsuitable, efficient and cost-effectivemethods for reactive and proactiveresponse to viral diseases of plants for a sustainableagriculture.
Specificprimaryobjectives of this actions are: • Coordinatefrontier European research on plant virus controlthrough gene silencingapproaches. • Helpdevelopnovelnon-transgeniccontrolstrategies for managing plant viral diseases in Europe. • Optimizeprotocols for high-throughputproduction and delivery of suitableresistanceinducermolecules. • Transfer innovations to end-usergroups (i.e. SMEs, plant protectionorganizations, growers’ groups). • Disseminateresults via publication of all meetingproceedings, developing a website with bibliography and announcements for long-termnetworking.

11. FA Action FA0901Putting Halophytes to Work - From Genes to EcosystemsEnd date: May 2013 The main objective of the action is to collate existing knowledge of halophytes from gene function to ecosystems that will impact on conservation and management of saline environments and agricultural productions. The growing human population presents a huge challenge to world agriculture. As more than 40% of the Earth is arid or semi-arid and most of the planet's water is saline, we advocate the sustainable use of these under-exploited resources for human benefit. Halophytes have evolved in saline habitats and are an untapped source of food, fibre and bioenergy. Deepening our understanding of halophytes and saline ecosystems will help combat salinisation, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and bioproductivity. Our goal is to create an interdisciplinary group of scientists to bridge gaps between disciplines by jointly exploring the biodiversity of halophytes, re-evaluating their uses as crops, including bioenergy, as sources of salt-resistance genes and for use in the restoration and rehabilitation of salinized or contaminated land. The action will tackle the problems of salt-affected agricultural land and support the timely development of a saline agriculture using brackish water as a replacement or a supplement for diminishing freshwater.

12. FA Action FA0902Understanding and Combating Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome in Europe End date: May 2013 The main objective of the action is to improve knowledge on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) in Europe in order to identify effective strategies to combat it.Twenty years after its emergence, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is still having major impacts on pig health and welfare. The etiologic agent is the PRRS virus. PRRS remains a challenge to the sustainability of pig production, especially with the emergence of new highly pathogenic PRRSV strains. To date, European PRRS research programs have been fragmented.The objectives of the action are to generate specific outcomes such as the identification of key challenges and propose potential solutions to problems to increase progress and facilitate the use of new technologies in animal health. With a specific emphasise on genetics and genomics this action will improve understanding of, and hence better control, of PRRS. The strategies derived from this action will benefit animal health, producers, public health and allied organizations that have a stake in animal agriculture systems. The recommendations will be widely disseminated and serve as a roadmap for training and future initiatives.

13. The main objective of the action is to understand the mechanisms of sexual/apomictic plant reproduction and to facilitate the use of this increased knowledge in the development of new approaches in biotechnology, agriculture and food industry through improved crops. Although most desirable crop traits are polygenic, no plant breeding tools exist, which allow the efficient fixation of multigenic traits over successive generations. Among several reproductive system-related strategies for fixation of desirable agronomic traits, one of the best choices is apomixis (i.e. clonal seed production) that would enable the instantaneous fixation of the complete genome of the best plants. For instance, apomixis technology would allow the fixation of heterosis in F1 hybrids. Moreover, when coupled with male-sterility systems, apomictic reproduction (with no need for male contribution) could help in addressing issues related to transgene escape from GM crops to organic or conventional crops, and thereby allow for better coexistence systems in Europe. The overall goal of the action is to allow for a synergy of inter-related European and international expertise to better understand the mechanisms of sexual/apomictic plant reproduction and to facilitate the application of this increased knowledge in the development of new approaches for agriculture and food industry to increase productivity. FA Action FA0903Harnessing Plant Reproduction for Crop Improvement End date: May 2013

14. FA Action FA0905Mineral-improved Crop Production for Healthy Food and FeedEnd date: April 2014 Global food systems are failing to provide adequate quantities of essential nutrients and other factors needed for good health, productivity and well-being of people. Improving content especially of Fe, Zn, Mg and Se will improve the nutritional value of crop-derived food or feed, potentially enhancing human and animal health. At the same time, the content of toxic minerals, Cd and As, and anti-nutritional compounds limiting mineral bioavailability, needs to be reduced to improve food safety. In this COST action several bottlenecks in the food/feed production chain limiting mineral status will be addressed by employing agronomic, genomic, biotechnological, and innovative food processing techniques in an interdisciplinary and integrated approach. Four working groups will focus on soil mineral bioavailability; plant biology; food/feed processing; and food/feed mineral bioavailability related to human/animal health.

15. FA Action FA0906UV-B radiation: A Specific Regulator of Plant Growth and Food Quality in a Changing Climate (UV4growth)End date: April 2014 Significant new understanding of UV-B mediated processes in plants has been gained during the last decade. Rather than being a damaging agent, it is now recognised that UV-B radiation is a specific regulator of gene expression, metabolite profiles, and responses to climate change parameters. This COST action will generate knowledge on the fundamentals of plant growth, food quality, and plant-environment interactions by integrating nationally and internationally funded research on UV-B mediated regulation of molecular, physiological, metabolic and ecological processes. The aim of this action is to develop an integrated vision of the role of UV-B in plant growth across a range of organisational levels and natural and agricultural systems.

16. FA Action FA0907Yeast flavour production - New Biocatalysts and Novel Molecular Mechanisms (BIOFLAVOUR)End date: June 2014 Flavours and Fragrances (F&F) are highly important quality components in food, beverages, cosmetics, detergents and pharmaceutical products. Nowadays, most F&F molecules are produced by chemical synthesis or by extraction from plants. The need for environmentally friendly processes and the consumer’s preference for natural products encourage research and development in the biotechnological production of F&F. This calls for a strong investment in capacity building through molecular, genetic and metabolic studies of the microbial flavour synthesis, which is at the moment relatively scarce. This COST action will build a unique European Yeast Flavour Network addressing fundamental research in natural bioflavour production through an innovative systems biology approach.

17. FA Action FA1001Application of Innovative Fundamental Food-structure-property Relationships to the Design of Foods for Health, Wellness and PleasureEnd date: November 2014 The food industry is constantly challenged to meet consumer demands for new food products that are safe, convenient, affordable, pleasurable and healthy. An understanding of fundamental structure–function relationships of food components is a key to the design of new foods. Ingredient formulation and production processes have a major role in commercial food development but their impact on food structure is poorly characterised. Furthermore the influence of structure and physical properties on the nutritional and health inducing properties of foods (e.g. bioavailability/efficacy of nutrients/ bioactives) has received very little research. This action will create an interdisciplinary team to apply the fundamental structure-properties knowledge of multiphase-foods (foams, emulsions) to real food systems, with a view to designing end-products with good sensory quality and health benefits. The action will create an expert network to bridge the gap between material scientists, food technologists and nutritionists.

18. The mainobjective of the action is cross-linkingwithin a multi-disciplinarynetwork European scientists with diverse expertise on plant naturalproducts (PNP) chemistry, plant metabolicengineering, plant enzymology, systems biology and computationalbiology, and chemistry to define and developrational design strategies to produceknown and novel PNP of pharmaceutical and industrialinterest in a sustainable, economical, and ecologicalway. A tremendousamount of knowledge has beengainedduring the last decadesabout the biosyntheticcapacity of plants and the pathwaysleading to the formation of plant naturalproducts (PNPs), many of which are of high relevance as pharmaceuticals or fine chemicals for industries. To fullyexploit the capacity of engineering plants for the production of high valuePNPs this COST action will support and enhance a pan-Europeannetworkwhichwillamalgamateresources, definetargetpathways and prioritizecompounds, disseminatenoveltechnologies and applications, set standards for computational support, and developsyntheticapproaches in plant metabolicengineering. Outcomeswillhelpguiding researchers in the design of plants as productionhost and provide building blocks for pathwayengineering. FPS Action FA1006Plant Metabolic Engineering For High Value ProductsEnd date: December 2014

19. FA Action TD0801Statistical challenges on the 1000€ genome sequences in plants End date: November 2012 The main objective of the action is to use and/or develop, through coordinated international efforts, efficient statistical and bioinformatics tools and strategies in order to produce, assemble, analyze, and integrate high-throughput genomic sequence data, aiming at a better understanding of biological systems in plants.

20. FPS Action FP0905Biosafety of Forest Transgenic Trees: Improving the Scientific Basis for Safe Tree Development and Implementation of EU Policy Directives The potential for unintended consequences of spread of foreign genes (via vertical or horizontal transfer) and of pleiotropic effects following transgene expression may be enhanced in long-lived forest trees. This action will focus on four key aspects related to the biosafety of GMTs: (a) analyses of the efficiency of existing gene containment strategies to avoid or if not possible to minimize gene flow; (b) facilitate efforts to develop site-specific integration of transgenes in tree genomes to minimize variability of transgene expression and pleiotropic effects, (c) evaluate possible methods to monitor GMTs in the whole production chain, and (d) conduct socio-economic and cost/benefit analyses in relation to the use of GMTs in plantations. This action combines multidisciplinary knowledge generated with transgenic lines of forest trees (such as, Populus spp., Pinus spp., Eucalyptus spp., Betula spp., Castanea spp., Picea spp., etc.) as well as extensive expertise in correlated topics. The information gained should contribute to strengthen the scientific basis for the execution of the EU policy directives related to transgenic trees intended for cultivation in Europe. The knowledge gained will be summarised in a book as a final output of this action.