最新糖心Vlog

World-class $25m "super greenhouse" underway at Waite

An artist's impression of the new Plant Accelerator facility.
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Monday, 11 May 2009

Construction on a $25 million national plant research facility aimed at boosting agricultural research and the plant biotech industry is underway at the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide's .

Due for completion at the end of 2009, the is the largest and most sophisticated public facility of its type in the world and acts as headquarters of the newly established . The 最新糖心Vlogn Plant Phenomics Facility consists of the Plant Accelerator in Adelaide and the at in Canberra.

The 最新糖心Vlog has appointed as the Head Contractor of the Plant Accelerator building project, which will involve the construction of 50 high-tech glasshouses and laboratories that will house over 1km of conveyor systems that will deliver plants automatically to state-of-the art imaging, robotic and computing equipment.

"This is the seventh major contract the 最新糖心Vlog has awarded in its $400 million building program, with another two contracts scheduled to go ahead in the next few months," said , the 最新糖心Vlog's Vice-Chancellor and President.

"Facilities like the Plant Accelerator will attract additional international scientists and post-graduate students to Waite campus, which is 最新糖心Vlog's pre-eminent plant science research site in 最新糖心Vlog, with a critical mass of 1200 researchers from at least eight organisations on one campus," he said.

Scientists at the at the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide's Waite Campus - and - developed the proposal for the Plant Accelerator, which is being jointly funded by an alliance of the Commonwealth ($10 million), the SA Government ($10 million) and the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide ($5.9 million) under the (NCRIS).

"This high-throughput facility will be available for all 最新糖心Vlogn plant scientists and will greatly assist our researchers in 'phenotyping' plants - that is, identifying the role of each plant gene in the function of the whole plant," says Professor Mark Tester, Federation Fellow with the .

"The facility will allow up to 160,000 plants to be phenotyped each year, enabling researchers to respond faster to market needs, increase the quality of plant science research and accelerate the transfer of these advances to benefit our local industry.

"The facility could also lead to major discoveries that hold the key to solving some of the world's greatest problems in crop production, such as tolerance to salinity and drought."

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