Breakthrough research on genetic diversity of oak wins the Marcus Wallenberg Prize

During a celebration at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm on 28 September, the Swedish King, His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, awarded the Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2006 to the French forest geneticist, Dr. Antoine Kremer. He was chosen for his path-breaking discovery of the evolution, organization and distribution of the genetic diversity of Pan-European oaks. Dr. Kremer has integrated the knowledge into a resource that will facilitate the conservation, sustainable management and wise use of forests globally. ,,Dr. Antoine Kremer has worked for 28 years with the French national research organization, INRA (L’Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique), and has been a leader in both national and international research groups. His breakthrough is in the combination of information from a number of different sciences at their current state-of-the-art level (from molecular genetics to evolutionary history of forests) to develop new knowledge about oaks at a continental scale. This knowledge will provide a major platform to facilitate decisions about the conservation and management of forests. It also allows prediction of likely future changes under the impact of climate and other environmental changes. ,,Dr. Kremer’s individual researches and synthesis may be applicable to other species throughout the world including industrial indigenous conifers such as those in northern Russia. The techniques will also have relevance to the introduction, management, improvement and use of exotic species elsewhere. The award of the Prize recognizes Dr. Kremer as an outstanding scientist and his work as a major contribution to human understanding, resource conservation and industrial development. ,,“Dr. Kremer’s work is of the highest class and has made important contributions to current thinking and research on tree evolution and genetics. It will form the basis for developing conservation strategies and management systems for the production of the economic, social and environmental services and benefits that forests yield. It also can offer a baseline for predicting the effects of climate change based on retrospective studies and also for monitoring their actual effects” said Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation. ,,The Marcus Wallenberg Prize was instituted to encourage scientific achievements within the forestry and forestry-related sectors. This year it was awarded for the 23rd time. The prize winner receives 2 million Swedish Crowns. ,,,