Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS), is a public research institution. Our research activities are focused on basic research. The Centre was created as a merge of the Institute of the Plant Genetics and Biotechnology SAS with the Institute of Botany SAS based on the decision of Presidency of SAS with effect from 1 January 2017. Institute of Botany and Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology are organizational units of the Centre.
The Centre covers a wide range of disciplines, e. g. evolutionary systematics, phylogeography, phytocoenology, population genetics, ecology, chorology, physiology, and genetics to study several components of biodiversity with a focus on plants, fungi, and aquatic fauna. The research also includes biochemistry and molecular biology, proteomics, and plant biotechnology with outreach to practical application. Model organisms include economically significant crops and woody species.
The output of our activity is a knowledge base for complex biodiversity and ecosystem research in different geographical scales (local, regional, continental) and for scientifically justified conservation, rational use, and management of nature and landscape. Our aim is to understand how the components of biodiversity respond and adapt to environmental conditions. In the field of plant genetics and physiology, we are focused on research on the adaptation of selected agricultural crops and woody plants under stress conditions. Unexplored plant genetic resources are the object of isolation and characterisation of genes with potential biotechnological applications, which can contribute to increasing the food security of the country.
We provide consulting and expert services within our scientific scope and research directions.
We build information infrastructure and resources for biodiversity research (collections and databases).
We partner with universities and research institutions, specialized organizations subordinated to the Ministry of Environment SR, and non-governmental organizations.