USTAV EXPERIMENTALNI BOTANIKY AV CR

Their core work

The Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences conducts fundamental and applied research in plant genetics, epigenetics, and crop breeding. Their work focuses on understanding how plants adapt to environmental stress — particularly climate change — and on widening the genetic diversity available for crop improvement. They bring expertise in advanced genomic and cytogenetic methods to breed more resilient cereals and underutilized crops, bridging the gap between laboratory plant science and agricultural application.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2017–2019) centered on fundamental plant science — understanding epigenome stability under climate stress and using cytogenetics to introduce wild relative genes into bread wheat. Both were Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships, reflecting a capacity-building phase focused on attracting international researchers. By 2021, they shifted toward applied crop diversification through CROPDIVA, engaging with food technology, feed technology, and market analysis — signaling a move from pure genetics toward agricultural value chains and food system resilience.

Moving from fundamental plant genomics toward applied food system resilience and underutilized crop valorization — increasingly relevant for agri-food innovation consortia.

How they like to work

As a host institution for two MSCA individual fellowships, they coordinated those projects directly — a common pattern for research institutes attracting visiting scientists rather than leading large consortia. Their participant role in CROPDIVA (a larger RIA with many partners) shows they can integrate into broad international teams. With 27 unique partners across 12 countries from just 3 projects, they are well-connected relative to their project count, suggesting openness and reliability as a partner.

Despite only three projects, they have collaborated with 27 partners across 12 countries, largely driven by the multi-partner CROPDIVA consortium. Their network spans a broad European footprint with no apparent geographic clustering.

What sets them apart

As part of the Czech Academy of Sciences, they combine deep expertise in plant cytogenetics and epigenetics with an increasingly applied focus on crop resilience and food chain diversification. Their strength lies in the genetic tools that enable wild-relative hybridization and underutilized crop improvement — capabilities that are in growing demand as climate adaptation becomes a priority for European agriculture. For consortium builders, they offer a credible Czech partner with strong fundamental science that translates into practical breeding applications.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AEGILWHEAT
  Largest-funded project (€154K), used wild grass species to introduce new genetic diversity into bread wheat — directly relevant to food security.
• CROPDIVA
  Their most recent and most applied project, focusing on underutilized crops for climate resilience with explicit food and feed technology dimensions.