Establishing Objectives

1.

Nurture R&D and management personnel in tropical plant sciences:

The education purpose of the Institute of Tropical Plant Sciences (ITPS) lays emphasis on teaching students not only with basic and advanced knowledge in plant sciences and biotechnology, but also training students becoming competent and skillful scientists. ITPS strengthens collaborative ties with Tainan Science and Industrial Park and Taiwan Orchid Plantation in training and research. The liaison between ITPS and industries will benefit the training of R&D and management personnel.

2.

Basic and applied researches in abiotic stress biology:

Climate change affects biodiversity and crop productivity in agroecosystem by changing the precipitation, temperature and other climate variables which are the key determinants of crop productivity. Basic and applied researches on how plants response to extreme water conditions (drought and flooding), salinity and high temperature are essential in ensuring crop productivity and food supply in response to extreme climate environment.

3.

Basic and applied researches in high-valued tropical plants:

Ornamental plants, fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants have high economic value. Investigating their growth and development, physiology, genetics, and the profile of secondary metabolites is fundamental for the applications.

4.

Conservation and utilization of endangered tropical plant resources:

There are many native plants with diverse genetic variation in Southern Taiwan. These plant resources provide a large pool of novel traits that could be useful in agriculture. Knowledge gains from these studies can facilitate marker-assisted breeding to improve crop productivity under stress conditions.

Teaching Objectives

1.

Collaborate with top research centers to train outstanding researchers in tropical plant sciences.

2.

Combine with agricultural industries to train elite personnel in biotechnology.

3.

Link intelligent agriculture and environmental sustainability to train next-generation scientist in translational agriculture。

4.

Train interdisciplinary personnel who has insights of bioeconomy and industrial application.

5.

Train developers of bioinformatics tools via mastery learning of plant genomics and database skills.

Research Features

1.

Develop biological techniques of commercial crops and intelligent agriculture

2.

Integrate genomics and bioinformatics of plants and microorganisms to develop agricultural applications and bioinformatics tools.

3.

Investigate the stress biology of tropical plants, especially on plant-microbe interactions, and translate the achievements to sustainable agriculture