Articles
THE EUROPEAN SOLANACEAE INFORMATION NETWORK
The impact will be twofold: specifically it will result in the establishment of a network for biotechnological and other Solanaceae data transfer and utilisation within Europe, and more generally it will generate a methodology for combining biotechnological data and information on biodiversity.
The project involves collaboration by partners from five countries, and is funded by the European Union.
ESIN will provide an internationally accepted taxonomic reference system for several test groups of species, which have been selected from the genera Capsicum, Datura, Lycopersicon, Petunia and Solanum (potatoes and eggplants). An agreed system of taxon names in a stable classification of selections, genera etc. is an essential prerequisite for efficient utilisation of the Solanaceae.
This taxonomic reference system can then be used as a backbone onto which other data can be attached, e.g. molecular and biotechnological data, agronomic uses, pest and disease resistance and germplasm holdings.
If, as expected, the ESIN project proves successful, then it will serve as a testable prototype model for the proposed international network (ISIN). This is planned to be a unified, factual database to contain all kinds of plant diversity information concerning all the world’s Solanaceae taxa, and thus to provide a service for those seeking information on this family.