Biotech body relocates to Adelaide

South Australia is on track to becoming an international hub for plant biotechnology research.

The International Triticeae Mapping Initiative (ITMI) headquarters is moving from the United States to Adelaide.

The relocation of ITMI was recently confirmed at a gathering of wheat and barley researchers in Minneapolis, USA, and its management office will relocate in January 2005.

ITMI is the key international forum for the discussion and coordination of public sector activities in the genetics and genomics of wheat, barley, rye and their wild relatives.

"For more than 10 years, ITMI has been coordinating international efforts and programs directed into genetics research of wheat, barley and rice," said Professor Peter Langridge, a member of the ITMI Planning Committee and CEO of the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG), based at the University of Adelaide's Waite Campus.

"ITMI has been crucial in bringing together public sector researchers from around the world. The collaborative spirit fostered by ITMI has been key in keeping cereal research at the forefront of scientific advances," he said.

Professor Langridge said ITMI's decision to relocate reflects the high regard for South Australian biotechnology research. "The relocation places Adelaide at the centre of cereal genetic and genomics research," he said.

"With the head office in Adelaide, it will add further strength to the city's already thriving biotechnology sector. We will be able to focus attention on the activities being undertaken in Australia and this new role will provide a crucial mechanism for ACPFG to provide input into international wheat and barley improvement programs.

"It will contribute to technology development and growth in agricultural research in Australia," Professor Langridge said.

In further good news for plant biotechnology in South Australia, Professor Vicki Sara, a former CEO of the Australian Research Council, chair of the Council and a member of the Prime Minister's Science Engineering and Innovation Council, has now joined the ACPFG Board of Directors.