International Green Biotechnology Congress Held in Istanbul

Scientists’ Agenda: Plant Biotechnology

Research and applications in “green biotechnology”, used on plants in order to improve their nutritional quality and quantity, and the production economics, were recently addressed in the International Green Bitechnology Congress held at Dedeman Bostancı Istanbul Hotel & Convention Center between September 11-13.

Following the Green Biotechnology Workshop in 2015, this year, the “International Green Biotechnology Congress” was organized with the collaboration of Gebze Technical University, Marmara University, Istanbul University, Gebze Technical University Technology Transfer Center Inc. and MITTO.

120 scientists who are experts in subjects such as gene regulation, plant gene expression analyses, plant and microbe interactions, omic approaches, genotyping by sequencing in plants, production of secondary metabolites, phytoremediation, genetic resources preservation, nanotechnology in agriculture, and biofortification shared information about the studies they have been conducting. The congress was presided by Prof. Yelda Özden Çiftçi, Head of the Congress Organizing Committee from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at GTU, and besides researchers working with various universities and agricultural research centers in Turkey, scholars from countries such as Italy, Finland, Pakistan, India, South Africa and New Zealand participated the congress.

A Great Opportunity for Turkey

The opening speech of the congress was made by Prof. Haluk Görgün, Rector, GTU. Görgün mentioned in his speech that biotechnology is a growing market and gave examples from statistics pointing to the fact that the income the countries obtain through biotechnology will increase in the future, saying that this congress was thus a great opportunity for both Turkey and GTU. Prof. Görgün continued his words as follows:

“Turkey accommodates many of the world’s major crops, such as wheat, chickpeas, lentils, apricots and almonds. Today, national and international efforts are needed to preserve these plant genetic resources not only for food and agriculture, but also for enhancing the quantity and quality of food crop in the long term. In order to meet the increasing demand of food, modern agriculture is using recent biotechnological methods to facilitate the processes involved in the development of new value-added varieties. Gebze Technical University is one of the leading universities of Turkey and gives much importance to research. Hereby, I am very glad and honored to announce that the initial cryopreservation studies that will lead to the establishment of the first cryobank of Turkey are emerging from our university. It is therefore important to address such an international top-level audience, with the participation of speakers from all over the world. I would like to congratulate the organizing committee of this congress. I wish you a bright day full of science and fruitful exchanges.”

The oral presentations within the congress took place on September 11-12, whereas September 13 was allocated for poster presentations. Thanks to the congress agenda, the participants were informed about the latest research and applications conducted at various national and international institutions for biotechnology and had the chance to exchange opinions. The second of the Congress will be held in 2019, and be hosted by Marmara University with the support of GTU. 

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. For more information on cookies, you can view our cookie policy. Please click here for more information. I agree