The general aims and strategy of the consortium are focussed on:

"Enhancing our understanding of the functioning of ecosystems, with the aim to unlock the full genetic potential for sustainable use of ecosystems for agricultural and other anthropogenic purposes."

Because this project provides a unique chance to bring together an internationally competitive consortium of groups that so far have been operating in relative isolation, we aim that this proposal is the starting point rather than the end of generating a lasting centre of outstanding, internationally oriented ecogenomics research. To attain this, additional funds will be sought whenever possible.

The key aims of the current knowledge project are:

• to enhance our ability to apply the full genetic potential for bioremediation purposes
• to improve our understanding of the contribution of species within an ecosystem to ecosystem functions and biodiversity
• to enhance disease suppressiveness of soils
• to improve our ability to define and measure environmental quality and health of ecosystems by developing novel genomics-based bio-analytical tools.