Copenhagen, Denmark
March 27, 2010
The Faculty of Life Sciences is investing in a new research facility that will further enhance its reputation and attract the brightest minds. Already today, plant scientists at LIFE are finding plant biotech solutions that can help prevent cancer or help feed the world.
The University's Faculty of Life Sciences is one of Europe's leading environments in plant science. That reputation is now about to be further increased by the decision to invest DKK 200m (USD 36m) in a new research facility, Copenhagen Plant Science Center.
The building of 7,000 square metres at Frederiksberg Campus that will house the centre will be ready in 2015, and by then the Faculty of Life Sciences will undoubtedly be among the world's two or three leading plant science research centres.
- Already today, we are world-leading in the field of plant science but with the establishment of the new centre, University of Copenhagen will be able to attract even more leading international plant scientists and PhD students, says Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences Per Holten-Andersen.
The potential applications of plant science in areas like food, medicine and bio-energy are virtually limitless.
Two of the projects being undertaken give a flavour of what the new research centre could offer in future plant science applications.
Non-toxic cassava
One project concerns the food area, specifically a vegetable called cassava which is a widely used staple food in Africa. The problem with cassava is that in its raw state it contains highly toxic cyanide, which makes it dangerous to consume if not prepared or cooked in the proper way. In Copenhagen a "super-cassava" is being developed in collaboration with African researchers, which contains no cyanide and is significantly richer in vitamins. The new cassava species will thus have both health-protective and health-promoting characteristics, to the benefit of thousands of Africans.
Wild carrots against cancer
Another project is in the area of medicine. American scientists have found a compound, called thapsigargin, in a wild carrot that has the ability to target certain types of tumour (prostate cancer, breast cancer) with great accuracy. But in order to have this anti-cancer effect thapsigargin needs to have special proteins attached to it.
Unfortunately, the wild carrot is almost impossible to cultivate, and the substance it produces is so complex that it would be colossally expensive to synthesise. So at LIFE, researchers are transferring the relevant biosynthetic apparatus from the carrot to a moss plant that can be used as a surrogate producer of the substance in a way that is both easy to do and relatively cheap.
Says senior researcher Henrik Toft Simonsen: "There is really great potential in this substance, especially because it targets its attack on tumour cells so accurately and because its side effect profile is so low - probably no more than ordinary paracetamol."
Contact
For more information on the "supercassava" project, please contact Professor Birger Lindberg Møller, Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, at blm@life.ku.dk
For more information on the wild carrot/thapsigargin project, please contact Senior Researcher Henrik Toft Simonsen, Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology at hts@life.ku.dk
If you require more information about Copenhagen Plant Science Center, please contact Dean at the Faculty of Life Sciences, Per Holten Andersen at dekan@life.ku.dk
Photo: Wild Carrot. Courtesy of Atrtzmh Field
Danmark i front inden for plantebioteknologi
LIFE - Det Biovidenskabelige Fakultet ved Københavns Universitet er ved at forberede etableringen af Copenhagen Plant Science Center. Centeret vil cementere Danmarks position som internationalt førende inden for forskning i planter og uddannelsen af eksperter inden for plantebioteknologi. 
Centeret vil samle forskning og uddannelse i verdensklasse inden for plantebioteknologi. Det vil i endnu højere grad sætte Danmark på verdenskortet, når det handler om at skabe ny viden og ressourcer, som kan udnytte planters uudtømmelige muligheder for at producere alt det, vi har brug for i fremtiden, eksempelvis plastic, tøj, mad, medicin og brændstof.
Bioenergi og bæredygtige fødevarer
Centeret, der har fået en bevilling på ca. 200 mio. kr., vil blive placeret på Frederiksberg, som en del af LIFE - Det Biovidenskabelige Fakultet. Her råder man i forvejen over miljøer, som inden for visse områder af plantebioteknologi hører til blandt verdenseliten, eksempelvis inden for bioenergi og bæredygtige fødevarer. Centeret vil samle disse miljøer med forskere, studerende og erhvervsliv og skabe et kraftfelt inden for alle områder af plantebioteknologi, som Danmark ikke har haft før:
- Allerede i dag er vi verdensførende, men nu skaber vi de helt rigtige rammer, og det vil komme til at virke som et yderligere trækplaster for førende udenlandske forskere og ph.d.-studerende, siger dekan på LIFE - Det Biovidenskabelige Fakultet, Per Holten-Andersen.
Centeret vil med sine godt 7.000 kvadratmeter stå klart om knap fem år og forventes at blive en af verdens førende plantevidenskabelige forskningscentre. Læs mere om bygningskonceptet for Copenhagen Plant Science Center.
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