Green Biotechnology

Plenary Lecture

Biomass to biofuels and biomaterials

11:00-11:10Chair/IntroductionProf. Marc Zabeau, Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB/Gent University, Belgium

11:10-11:35Dual purpose beets: feedstock for chemicals and biofuelsDirector Cosun Food technology Centre, Royal Cosun, The Netherlands

11:35-12:00Amylopectin Potato “Amflora"- A European Product for Technicae ApplicationsDr. Ralf-Michael Schmidt, Vice President, BASF Plant Science Holding GmbH, Germany

12:00-12:25Bioethanol production or biorefinery concepts – the viewpoint of a plant breederDr. Andreas von Felde, Head energy crops, KWS SAAT AG, Germany

12:25-12:50Production of bio-fuels from biomass by cell surface engineered yeast strainsProf. Akihiko Kondo, Kobe University, Japan

12:50-13:00Discussion & Conclusions 

Plant-based Pharmaceuticals

15:00-15:10Chair/IntroductionEm.Prof. Marc Van Montagu, EFB President; Scientific Advisor, Department of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University, Belgium

15:10-15:30Plant cells as factories for production of high-value secondary metabolitesDr. Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldentey, Head of Plant Biotechnology, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

15:35-16:00Challenges and Opportunities for Plant Made PharmaceuticalsProf. Dr. Rainer Fischer, Senior Executive Director, Fraunhofer IME, Germany

16:00-16:20Spekaer 3Dr. Maurice Moloney, Chief Scientific Officer, SemBioSys Genetics Inc, Canada

16:25-16:50Good reasons to dare plant-factoriesDr. François Arcand, CEO, ERA Biotech, Barcelona, Spain

16:50-17:00Discussion & Conclusions

Plenary Lecture

Plenary Lecture

Molecular Plant Breeding

11:00-11:10Chair/IntroductionDr. Johan Peleman, Director R&D, Nunhems BV, The Netherlands

11:10-11:30Natural genetic variation for improving tomato yield and qualityProf. Dani Zamir, Professor, The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences & Genetics in Agriculture, Jerusalem

11:35-12:00Whole Genome Association mapping in Plant PopulationsDr. Anker Sørensen, Manager Applied Research, Keygene N.V., The Netherlands

12:00-12:20DNA Sequence Diversity of Maize and Association Mapping of TraitsDr. Antoni Rafalski, Senior Research Fellow, Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl. - a DuPont Compant, USA

12:25-12:50Downregulation of structural lignin genes to improve digestibility and bioethanol production in maizeDr. David Caparrós-Ruiz, Consorci CSIC-IRTA, Spain

12:50-13:00Discussion & Conclusions 

Plant Systems Biology and Bioinformatics

15:00-15:10Chair/IntroductionMark Stitt, Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany

15:10-15:35Probing the complexity of plant growthDr. Pierre Hilson, Principal Investigator, Functional Genomics Group, Ghent University, Belgium

15:35-16:00Systems analysis of metabolic and gene regulatory networksProf. Wilhelm Gruissem, Professor of Plant Biotechnology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

16:00-16:25Guilt by association-new ways of approaching co-expression in higher plantsDr. Staffan Persson, Group Leader, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany

16:50-17:00Discussion & Conclusions

Plenary Lecture

Plenary Lecture

20 years of insect control with Bt technology

11:00-11:10Chair/IntroductionDr. Marnix Peferoen, CropDesign N.V., Belgium

11:10-11:35Bacillus thuringiensis and its applications as a bioinsecticideProf. Juan Ferre, Professor in Genetics, University of Valencia, Spain

12:55-12:00Development and Commercialization of Insect Resistant CropsDr. David Fischhoff, Vice-President, Technology Strategy & Development, Monsanto, USA

12:00-12:25RNAi, an innovative technology for pest & disease controlDr. Geert Plaetinck, Head of RNAi Technology, Devgen, Belgium

12:50-13:00Discussion & Conclusions 

Novel Perspectives of GM Plants

15:00-15:10Chair/IntroductionDr. Johan Cardoen, CEO, CropDesign N.V., Belgium

15:10-15:30Plant Biotech: The leap beyond the farm gateDr. Michiel van Lookeren Campagne, Head of Research - BioScience, Bayer CropScience, Belgium

15:35-16:00Corn Traits for the Feed IndustryDr. Alan L. Kriz, Global Product Manager, BASF Plant Science LLC, USA

16:00-16:20Translating genomics to yieldDr. Tom Adams, Director of Yield and Emerging Technologies, Monsanto, USA

16:50-17:00Discussion & Conclusions

Plenary Lecture