THE NORWICH LEGUME GROUP (NORLEG)

There is a long history of legume research, especially with the pea, at the John Innes Institute (JII), the Norwich Laboratory of the Institute of Food Research (IFRN) and in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA). The work of the JII is concerned mainly with the genetics and molecular biology of seed storage products (protein, starch and oil), seed and cellular development and the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis; that at IFRN with human and animal nutrition, compositional analysis and variation, the technology of food processing and the functionality of storage products (protein and starch) and that at the UEA with pathology, disease resistance and nitrogen metabolism. This wealth of expertise, involving more than 25 senior scientists, has come together to form the Norwich Legume Group (NORLEG). There are two main reasons for forming NORLEG:

1. To encourage industrial interest and involvement in the Group's research and development programmes.

We intend to form and link an 'industrial club' to NORLEG enabling companies greater access to the Group's work through meetings and advanced publicity. This process of information dissemination will provide a 'shop window' from which it is hoped industrially-sponsored collaborations in particular areas of research will be stimulated. It will also provide a forum through which industry may give advice on the direction and priorities of the research and development programmes. Individual companies will be asked to pay a relatively small fee for 'club' membership which will be used to fund meetings and, perhaps, the industrial funding for large research proposals that demand such an input, e.g. EEC, MAFF, DTI, AFRC.

2. To increase collaboration and the dissemination of information between the members of NORLEG

It is envisaged that regular research seminars as well as less formal meetings will take place within the Group to increase the level of contact between member scientists and hopefully facilitate the expansion of research into new areas. This will provide a 'Group Identity' which can be projected to outside academics and industrialists, and exploited in formulating multi-disciplinary research proposals.

The concept of NORLEG is to create an umbrella for ideas and collaboration on grain legume research - it is not intended to be a closed shop, open only to those who are currently involved in legume research.

Current members of NORLEG are shown on the following list. Local coordinators are indicated by an asterisk.

INSTITUTE OF PLANT SCIENCE RESEARCH

John Innes Institute

IPSR CAMBRIDGE LABORATORY

INSTITUTE OF FOOD RESEARCH

Norwich Laboratory

UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

School of Biological Sciences

School of Chemical Sciences

School of Developmental Studies

The above information on NORLEG was kindly supplied, at my request, by Dr C.L. Hedley, John Innes Institute, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK. Dr Hedley would be pleased to handle in the first instance enquiries from companies or individuals interested in making contact with NORLEG.

Editor