P2 - ALTERRA Alterra B.V

Droevendaalsesteeg 3
Building 100+101
6708 PB Wageningen
THE NETHERLANDS
http://www.alterra.wur.nl

ALTERRA is part of Wageningen University and Research (The Netherlands) and represents within Evoltree also three other institutes from this organisation. Together the competences of the researchers range from the molecular gene- to the ecosystem level and nicely complement each other.

ALTERRA is concerned with the ecology and genetics of the natural environment (population and quantitative genetics, population genomics, ecosystem modelling, forest ecology, conservation of tree genetic resources and tree breeding).

PRI - PPO (Plant Research International - Applied Research Plant and Environment) is concerned with the development and application of genetics and genomics to all aspects of plant breeding, cultivation, and conservation (genomics, plant breeding, phytopathology, conservation of genetic resources, mycology, and QTL mapping).

A&F (Agro Food Innovations) is involved with applying genomics to food and agro-technical purposes (Identification of genes and molecular pathways, application of cDNA micro-arrays, and abiotic stress response).

The key persons involved in the NoE are:

Hans Peter Koelewijn (ALTERRA) was trained as a plant ecologist, but switched thereafter to population genetics (plants, animals and protists; mendelian, quantitative and molecular genetics). His main fields of expertise are: the genetics of plant sexual systems, spatial genetic structure of populations, and the application of genetic techniques to identify species and populations to estimate dispersal in natural populations.

Koen Kramer (ALTERRA) has been working for ten years in the field of modelling the impact of climate change, disturbances and management on the diversity and structure of European Forests. Currently he is working on the synchronization and interaction of tree phenology in relation to winter moth herbivory.

Joukje Buiteveld (ALTERRA) has been working for 8 years as a population geneticist in the field of genetic diversity in forest tree populations and tree breeding. Her main interests involve: characterization of genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure in natural populations, gene flow (dispersion), hybridisation, gene conservation and genetic mapping in Q. robur.

René Smulders (PRI) has been working for ten years as a Molecular Geneticist in the field of genetic diversity of natural populations, and the application of molecular genetics to identify species and populations.

Jurriaan Mes (A&F) is a molecular biologist with more then 10 years of experience with plants (model crops like Arabidopsis and tomato and many commercial interested crops), pathogens (Fusarium and Botrytis) and plant-pathogen interactions.