Download book of abstracts from the different workshops in 'Activities' then 'Meeting'

Above: group pictures in Dijon

Below: WG meeting in Nitra

Plants, as all other living organisms depend on proteins to perform most of their vital functions. The name protein comes from the Greek πρώτα ("prota"), meaning "of primary importance". Proteins are the functional molecules that drive metabolic and regulatory pathways in a cell. Proteomics, i.e. the large-scale analysis of proteins in biological systems at a certain time point, aims to identify all proteins present and to characterize their qualitative and quantitative modifications, for example in response to environmental changes. Proteomics is a relatively recent technology currently undergoing fast development and growth, logically complementing the genomic and transcriptomic studies as well as the other emerging field of metabolomics. Although protocols have been developed to perform proteomic analysis in the human, animal and microbial domains of life, the plant kingdom still awaits a systematic approach for proteome analysis. This proposal aims to build up expertise in plant proteomics through an integrated network of European scientists. Tools for proteome analysis in fundamental and applied plant research areas will be developed and shared, to generate fundamental information about plant metabolism, investigate responses to environmental constraints and assess food quality. This proposal will also increase public understanding for new technologies, critical for further development by the industry.

Today, 24 countries are involved in the action, as shown on this map, namely: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

DOWNLOAD HERE THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

of the cost action FA0603.

European cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research - is an intergovernmental European framework for international co-operation between nationally funded research activities. It is the oldest European networking system in research, established in 1971. Currently, it consists of 34 Member Countries and one cooperating state :

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,Portugal, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovak Republic,Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom. Israel (cooperating state).

Rather than funding research itself, COST brings together research teams in different countries working on specific topics, supporting networking, conferences, short-term scientific exchanges and publications.

One of the main characteristics of COST is its flexibility: there are no set areas for co-operation, but scientists themselves put forward proposals for COST Actions (bottom-up principle). Only five member countries need to participate, although in some Actions research teams from three to five times that number are involved ("à la carte" principle).

Even with the growth of the Community framework programmes on RTD, and the launch of EUREKA in 1985, COST continues to play an substantial role in the development of scientific and technical cooperation in Europe as an important pillar in the European Research Area.

MORE INFO ON http://www.cost.esf.org