Biologists at York University are spearheading a £5 million project to decipher the genetic make-up of all plant life.

The research, which could take up to ten years to complete, is expected to radically improve our knowledge of the eco-system and lead to the improvement of agricultural techniques.

The work will also affect a number of other research areas, including medicine.

It follows a recent breakthrough by a collaboration of five international laboratories to define the genetic blueprint of thale cress, a plant relative of mustard.

Dr Ottoline Leyser, of the university's biology department, will co-ordinate the Genomic Arabidopsis Resource Network, which includes the input of six other universities, to crack the meaning behind that framework.

A series of complex genetic tests will be carried out on the cress plant in the university glasshouses and the data entered into state-of-the-art computers.

The operation will be moved to the new York University biology block which is currently under construction.

Dr Leyser said: "The world's eco-system is completely dependent on plants, so it's vital we are able to understand how they work.

"A lot of our current understanding is based on guesswork, but our research will give us something more concrete.

"The genetic framework is like having a dictionary of all the words in the cress plant's language. The recent breakthrough has revealed how many words there are, but it is our job to find out what they mean.

"The project is very exciting and we're privileged to be spearheading it. It's a massive boost for York University."

The research is also expected to improve the quality of GM crops and their resistance to agricultural pests.

Thale cress was used as the subject of research because it is cheap, easy to grow and breed and has very short life cycles.

From its genes researchers have already learned how to protect wheat from disease, to ripen tomatoes and to double the yields of rape-seed oil.

Updated: 10:21 Tuesday, January 16, 2001