| FAUBA and DONMARIO reached an agreement to advance in biotechnological research |
|
|
|
|
|
The Faculty of Agronomy of UBA (FAUBA) and Seed Company DONMARIO reached an agreement of cooperative working to advance in biotechnological research focused on development of molecular markers for extensive crop, as well as in professional training, with the company enabling the use of specific laboratory equipment. The developed technologies lead to give solutions in global advance, to some of the main problems linked to soybean and wheat.
The agreement is the result of two years´ work and is made in the Biochemistry Department of FAUBA, where different lines of research on crop germoplasm are led, together with problems related to illnesses, plagues and quality.
“We chose to relate to DONMARIO because it is a national Company that reinforces human resource training and because this relation offers us the concrete chance to transfer the knowledge we generate and for our research to reach productive means “, affirmed Eduardo Pagano, teacher in charge of the Biochemistry Department.
DONMARIO Research Director, Marcos Quiroga, said: “We are working together with FAUBA in the search of new crop molecular markers, mainly for wheat and soybean, and on a great spectrum of global problems. From here, we generate technologies that give solutions to very important concrete problems for soybean crop in Argentina, and also for other countries such as USA and Brazil “, he exemplified.
In this respect, he affirmed: “Thanks to the joint work with the university, we already have concrete and very interesting information that we are massively applying, which allows us to improve quality in our improvement programme “.
one of the central projects that has already given results is focused on microsatellites (repeated sequences in DNA) to SNPS (polymorphism of only one nucleotide), state/of/the art technologies that imply an increase in efficiency in the selection of molecular markers, useful in Argentina in the search for resistance to Frog eye Spot and soybean root and stem rotting, among others.
Research is led by Agustín Repetto, who came onto Don Mario team in 2011, and Works in FAUBA Biochemistry laboratory, under his Master’s Degree financed by the Company in the Graduate School (EPG) Alberto Soriano. He also participates as a teacher in FAUBA classes where the developed technologies are exposed.
“This team work generated a tool that enables us to improve molecular marker selection capacity in an efficient and quick way, to face central world soybean issues “, considered Quiroga, and added: “In molecular development, we work in two research lines: with soybean illnesses and with baker quality in wheat, identifying genes that confer the best gluten possibilities”.
Another of the research lines product of this public/private joint work is centered on the plant/insect relation, specifically bedbug or thumbtack, and is led by Ivana Sabljic, FAUBA Doctorate student, who works in the seed company´s headquarters located in Chacabuco. “The field material of the Company is also used to lead different thesis work “, said Pagano.
Quiroga said that the university allows the Company to advance upon projects that require a lot of dedication and high technical level of very qualified professionals. “We are interested in bringing to FAUBA concrete projects, of practical application and common interest, and generating a synergic relation with its researchers “, he concluded.
Pagano added: “In our department are participating students that have just started to attend Agronomy classes, as well as other who are already working on their final studies, or are attending masters Degrees, Doctorates or Post Doctorate Studies. On the other hand, the fact that there are researchers settled in a company, completing their Postgraduate course is a novelty in the Argentine Scientific system “.
Source: InfoCampo > Agronegocios |
|
|
|
|
|
|
