IMAmt and Evogene sign a research agreement to prospect for resistance genes to high-impact pests for cotton farming

The Mato Grossense Cotton Institute (IMAmt) and the Israeli company Evogene announced this week the signing of a new research agreement to prospect for resistance genes to two pests of great impact on Brazilian cotton farming: boll weevil and Spodoptera frugiperda, also known as fall armyworm or military caterpillar, which affects other crops in the Cerrado of Mato Grosso.

In this partnership, Evogene will be responsible for identifying molecules in its vast database that are potentially effective in controlling weevils and S. frugiperda, which will be validated by IMAmt – through the Improvement Program team and the Biotechnology and Bioassays Laboratory – aiming at the development of transgenic materials.

"The role of IMAmt will be to validate the genes provided by Evogene and their possible use in the development of plants resistant to the boll weevil and S. frugiperda", explains researcher Leonardo Scoz, who coordinates the Biotechnology Laboratory installed at the Ampa/IMAmt Technological Training and Diffusion Center of the Southern Regional Center, in Rondonópolis.  

Evogene has already been participating in a larger project, carried out with funding from the Brazilian Cotton Institute (IBA) and called Research Platform Project - Development of boll weevil-resistant cotton, which also includes the participation of researchers from Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (from Brasília – DF) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), among other institutions.

"When we visited Evogene, we saw the great potential for collaboration with IMAmt. We observed the company's efficiency in delivering its work, already in our first partnership experience. We are confident that together we will be able to respond to several challenges that the tropical agriculture presents us", comments Alvaro Salles, executive director of IMAmt.

Arnon Heyman, VP Evogene and GM of Ag-Seeds division, says he is very happy with the partnership with IMAmt, a research institute created by producers associated with Ampa (Mato Grosso Association of Cotton Producers). According to Heyman, with advances in the discovery and selection of new toxins, coming from Evogene's insecticide gene database, solutions can be found with great potential for controlling pests that have been devastating for cotton cultivation in South America. .