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February 6, 2007
Discovery on regulation of flowering is awarded the Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2007
The Marcus Wallenberg Foundation proudly annnounces that the Marcus Wallenberg Prize for 2007 is awarded to Professor Ove Nilsson, Sweden
The Marcus Wallenberg Foundation proudly annnounces that the Marcus Wallenberg Prize for 2007 is awarded to Professor Ove Nilsson, Sweden, for his scientific accomplishments that have revealed genes and fundamental molecular mechanisms of regulation of flowering time and have indicated how molecular signals help trees to adapt to the changing seasons. The use of these advances could substantially accelerate the breeding of trees via rapid induction of flowering with enviromental safeguards. This in turn offers the potential for more rapid and enhanced yields of forest raw materials and thus increased forest production worldwide.
Background
The traditonal tree breeding process is hampered by the fact that it takes a long time before many trees flower for the first time, e.g. for Scots pine and Norway spruce it takes 15-20 years. Genetic improvement of agricultural crops has been immense compared to that for forest trees because most agricultural crops flower within a year or less.
Ove Nilsson found that the samme control system for flowering seems to act in a variety of plants, from small herbs to large trees. Ove Nilsson and his colleagues have identified a gene, whose activity is triggered by long and short nights, as occur in spring. Without this gene activity the bud would develop into a leaf but, with it, flowers will be fomred. The same gene also controls the budset which occurs when day length decreases in autumn. The gene can make poplars flower precociously when they are only a few weeks old.
The gene can be transferred at the earliest stage of the breeding program but, after flowering, breeding will follow the traditional path. It will also be possible to remove the gene before the seeds or the seedlings reach the forest. The ability to control the cessation of flowering will decrease the risk of spreading unwanted genes to surrounding forests.
The discoveries by Ove Nilsson and his co-workers will allow the whole breeding program to be shortened substantially and trees with the desired properties will be produced at a much more rapid rate. This implies a higher yield from the forest and also the possibility to design trees for specific site conditions and uses in a quicker way with greater annual gain per year. It will also be of vital importance for potential new businesses based on renewable raw materials such as chemicals, energy and fuels, composites or other materials.
Ove Nilsson
Ove Nilsson is a Swedish citizen, 42 years old, Professor and Director of the Centre for Plant Development Biology at Umeå Plant Science Centre, Sweden. He is Professor at the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. He defended his thesis in 1995 and worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Salk Institute, California, during which time he co-authored several papers for Nature. Since his return to Sweden in 1998, he and his colleagues have continued publishing in leading journals. Ove Nilsson is a member of the Board of the company SweTree Technologies, a forest biotechnology company based on scientific innovations, in which three of Sweden's largest forest-owning companies are investors.
The Prize will be presented by His Majesty, The King of Sweden, at a ceremony in Stockholm in the autumn. The ceremony will be followed by a symposium around the subject of the Prize-winner and its impact on the forest and forest products industries.
The annual Prize was established in 1980 to acknowledge the lifetime activities and the memory of Marcus Wallenberg, the late Chairman of Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB (now Stora Enso). Each year the Prize recognizes a single break-through research achievement of one scientist or a small group of collaborating scientists. In the view of the Prize Selection Committee and the Board of the Foundation, the selected break-through will have a significant effect on the industries. While rewarding the winner, the Prize is also intended to stimulate further research around the world.
Follow link below to printable pictures of the Prize Winner.
For more information please contact:
Mr. Per G. Broman, Executive Secretary, The Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.
Telephone +46-(0)1046-88205, Mobile +46-(0)70-5776993, Fax +46-(0)23-711581.
Fore more information about the Marcus Wallenberg Prize, please visit www.mwp.org
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