Genomics Research Center for Climate Change offers free course in plant biotechnology
The “From Gene to Trait” course takes place from September 12th to 16th at Embrapa Agricultura Digital, in Campinas (SP)
Researchers from Embrapa Cassava and Fruticulture (BA) are using wild species of cassava to promote genetic improvement of the root. In these little-known varieties, generally inedible, genes of interest for agricultural production are prospected, related to agronomically interesting characteristics such as productivity, disease resistance and higher starch content (a characteristic demanded by the industry).
The work is part of the so-called pre-breeding that aims to identify useful characteristics of interest in accessions poorly adapted to local soil and climate conditions and make these genes available in more adapted genotypes, with good agronomic characteristics, so that they can be included in the breeding program.
“Our pre-breeding actions are basically focused on discovering useful alleles for traits of agronomic importance that are of interest to farmers, such as resistance to pests and diseases, root and starch productivity, attributes associated with root quality and pasting properties that are attributes that each starch has and defines its industrial applications”, explains researcher Eder Jorge Oliveira, breeder at Embrapa.
Almost 20 years ago, a project led by researcher Alfredo Augusto Cunha Alves in partnership with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Ciat), from Colombia, sought to discover the potential for using wild cassava species in terms of resistance to the main pests and diseases (stress biotic), as well as tolerance to drought and post-harvest physiological deterioration (abiotic stresses). “We were able to confirm that wild species are sources of genes that could be used in the breeding program. They have a very large diversity when compared to our commercial cassava”, says Alves.
The introduction of wild species of the genus Manihot into the research unit in Bahia began in 2005, with botanical seeds of several species transferred from Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (DF) and collection expeditions carried out in the Semi-Arid and Cerrado regions. Today there are around 60 thousand seeds of 14 species of Manihot. “The genus Manihot, which is the same as commercial cassava, has 99 species. Taxonomists claim that 75% of the genus' biodiversity is in Brazil. Therefore, we are the main center of origin for these species", he continues.
“To carry out crosses between commercial and wild species, the seed has to germinate, the plant has to flower and produce new hybrid seeds. However, commercial varieties typically have a low flowering rate. Furthermore, the female flower opens before the male flower, making flowering synchronization even more difficult. Hence the importance of studies to induce flowering in commercial cassava, which is the focus of the NextGen Improvement Project, led by Eder Oliveira", reports Alves.
One example is the species Manihot flabellifolia, used in crosses with commercial cultivars to obtain cultivars resistant to the Aleurothrixus aepim whitefly. Considered key pests for cassava cultivation, whiteflies are sap-sucking insects and, therefore, weaken and harm the development of the plant, affecting the production and quality of the roots.
Manihot flabellifolia and others occurring in Brazil were exhaustively searched for by researcher Carlos Alberto da Silva Ledo, from Embrapa, and by professors and taxonomists Márcio Lacerda Lopes Martins and Paulo Cézar Lemos de Carvalho, now retired, from the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia ( UFRB). The team carried out expeditions in the Federal District and in another 14 states of the federation, with collections and records in more than 300 points. “Based on the written memories of other researchers and the visual perception and experience of these great taxonomists, we faced many hours of difficult roads, rain and flooding”, recalls Ledo.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, as an ally with conventional research, the program has used participatory methodology, which involves family farmers, indigenous people and quilombolas, and has become an efficient tool for increasing the level of adoption and dissemination of varieties generated by research, speeding up its incorporation by producers and expanding the genetic diversity of cassava in crops.
Recently, with the increasing importance of the use of cassava for industrial purposes, partnerships with the private sector have also included large root producers and starch industries, especially in the Center-South of the country. The program has been developing cultivars that add to the of table cassava released with high nutritional quality and good post-harvest conservation, used in the processing of products with high added value.
Contrary to the saying “Blacksmith's house, wooden spit”, very close to Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura there are two prominent processing agro-industries: the Dois Irmãos beijus production unit, in the rural area of Cruz das Almas, and the Brinco Community Association (Abrinco), in the municipality of Maragogipe.
As soon as he started producing the colorful kisses that he learned from researcher Joselito da Silva Motta and reformed the physical structure of Dois Irmãos, José Carlos Mendonça began providing them for school lunches through the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) - in addition to selling from his stall at the municipal market. Today, the entrepreneur employs 17 people and sells five thousand packages per week to bakeries, grocery stores and supermarkets in Recôncavo and the Metropolitan Region of Salvador. “We work from Monday to Friday, from 7 am to 12 pm and from 13 pm to 17 pm, but we are unable to keep up with the demand. Little by little we will expand”, he reports.
Abrinco explores another niche and has a diverse list of products with the Family Farming Seal: cassava dough, chilled cassava, cassava with skin, tapioca starch for beiju, granulated tapioca and cassava flour. After training on processing and Good Manufacturing Practices at the Food Science and Technology Laboratory, the association transports around 19 tons per month to Recôncavo, Salvador and Lauro de Freitas, with the potential to increase to 40 tons per month.
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The “From Gene to Trait” course takes place from September 12th to 16th at Embrapa Agricultura Digital, in Campinas (SP)
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