Largest genetic bank in Latin America, Embrapa Unit is a reference in biotechnology

The end of the 20th century brought profound political, economic, scientific and social changes to humanity. For agriculture, the great challenge is the search for sustainable solutions that incorporate innovative technologies into crops of economic importance, that are competitive and that increase the producer's income. Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology can contribute to the development of sustainable and environmentally balanced agriculture in the country, because it integrates genetic resources activities, agricultural biotechnology and integrated pest control, in addition to specific biological safety actions.

At a time when Embrapa celebrates 50 years of agricultural research and innovation, the Unit symbolizes the potential of Brazilian science, an international reference today and for the future. One of the great contributions is the Embrapa Genetic Bank, the largest in Latin America and the fifth largest repository of its kind in the world. With the capacity to store one million accessions of animal, vegetable and microbial origins, in a building measuring more than 2 thousand square meters, in Brasília-DF, it is responsible for the conservation of strategic species for food, agriculture and Brazilian biodiversity.

Currently, there are around 119 thousand plant accessions (1.117 species), 28 thousand animals (35 species) and seven thousand lineages of microorganisms (327 species), kept at low temperatures and under protection, due to the importance they represent for the conservation and preservation of biological diversity. Much of the preserved material is capable of generating new specimens of each of the stored species, which guarantees the development of new research and food security for future generations. A true Noah's Ark of modern times.

Clones nursery

And speaking of modern times, we cannot forget another contribution of the Unit to national livestock farming, through biotechnology applied to animal reproduction and conservation, work carried out largely at the Fazenda Sucupira Experimental Field, where there are examples of centuries-old breeds of zootechnical interest. , including oxen, sheep, pigs, horses and donkeys. Many of the breeds from the so-called Noah's Ark have existed since the colonization of Brazil and are considered a genetic treasure, which can be used in crosses with more productive breeds, lending their rusticity and characteristics.

It was in the Sucupira Farm that the country's first bovine clones were born, with Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology being the first research institution in Latin America to create a bovine clone: ​​in 2001, “Vitória da Embrapa” was born, which left children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and died years later due to complications of age.

After her came the bovine clones “Legend of Embrapa” and Porã. In addition to them, the fillies Branca and Neve, the first in Brazil to be born using the technique of splitting embryos in horses. Animal genetic resources are also stored in the Embrapa Gene Bank.

Available to producers who wish to improve their herds, with reduced costs, the Unit has made available the TIFOI technique (intrafollicular transfer of immature oocytes), a biotechnique that presents all the advantages of in vitro fertilization (IVF) with an additional benefit of not needing laboratory to be carried out. Breeders can obtain embryos with the same speed and agility as with IVF, that is, around one calf per week from a single donor cow, without having to leave the farm. Brazil is the first country to be completely successful with TIFOI.

Rescue of traditional culture

On the other hand, the diversity of ancient cultures increasingly has the possibility of crossing generations, returning to the land, germinating, populating crops and feeding traditional peoples, especially different indigenous ethnicities. And it all started with the rescue and conservation of traditional seeds from the Krahô people, back in the late 1990s, with the work of researcher Terezinha Dias. Since then, the number of Brazilian ethnic groups interested in one of the safest ways of conserving Brazilian biodiversity for many years, guarding treasures, has grown: in situ conservation (carried out by communities through the continuous planting of seeds) and ex situ conservation, in which material is stored at temperatures that allow it to maintain quality for at least 40 years and this occurs with storage in the Embrapa Gene Bank. Thanks to this work, seeds of symbolic importance to indigenous peoples are saved.

Different species of eucalyptus can be improved with attention to a demand from producers: reduction of up to 50% in the time spent on genetic improvement, thanks to the genotyping chip, called EucHIP60k, which performs the simultaneous analysis of 60 thousand markers distributed throughout the genome of the plant. The product has high potential for application in the forestry sector of several countries, as its development took place based on the 10 most used eucalyptus species in the world. Until then, genetic improvement varied from 9 to 18 years, but now it can be done in 6 to 9 years. With this, the producer can now reduce time and costs.

Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology has also been involved in sequencing the genomes of several species, opening up possibilities for sustainable solutions. Over more than four decades, it has responded to important global demands in the area, such as participation in the international consortium formed by 11 countries – Brazil, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, China, Australia, Spain, Indonesia, India and the United States – which sequenced the complete genome of coffee (Coffea canephora) for the first time in the world.

In addition, results were obtained in research to sequence eucalyptus, the first peanut genomes, the papaya honey virus and, recently, researchers completed the complete sequencing of the leaf miner, one of the main pests of coffee plantations. This result signals new and promising ways to combat the pest, since researchers now know all the habits and genetic structures of the insect that can devour entire coffee plantations. With the answers in hand, it is possible to develop bioinsecticides and put into practice sustainable methods to protect coffee plantations from the Minas Gerais bug, at a lower cost.

New challenges

Climate change and its effects are challenges in everyday scientific and technological research. At the same time, the search for solutions for such transformations presents the scientific world with a growing opportunity to develop new developments in fields of knowledge that are increasingly present in Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology teams, including nanobiotechnology, synthetic biology, control pest control and environmental restoration, among other themes that have guided the Unit's portfolio.

Genetically optimizing living organisms to obtain more healthy and nutritious foods, including drugs and energy, with sustainability, has been one of the objectives of scientists working on projects aimed at this purpose through synthetic biology.

The sustainable development of livestock farming in the Cerrado biome, which covers 24% of the Brazilian territory and has 28% occupied by cultivated pastures, means that research turns to paths that result in sustainable solutions, including the publication Sistemas Silvipastoris (SSP) with native trees in the Cerrado, which brings together research conducted in different regions of the Cerrado and aims to expand knowledge about the native trees present in pastures.

Current Challenges

Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology is a strategic unit for Brazil and the world: it is a Unit that works with four major fields of knowledge, whether in basic or applied research. The challenges facing this Center are not few, considering the responsibility of its teams leading more than 160 Active Germplasm Banks (BAGs). It is from this mission that the mapping of all Embrapa material existing in the BAGs and, consequently, stored in the Company's Genetic Bank takes place.

Therefore, a great challenge is, without a doubt, working for the conservation of this national heritage stored in the Genetic Bank, which gives the Unit the status of a national security area precisely because it maintains in its structure this repository of national biodiversity, as well as the Quarantine Station .

Offering rural producers sustainable assets in order to guarantee agricultural production is another challenge for the highly qualified team at Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, especially projects aimed at developing bio-inputs and different strategies for monitoring and controlling insect pests.

With a strong presence in the field of biotechnology and a focus on management strategies for biotic and abiotic stresses, the Unit is committed to finding solutions for drought resistance and the control of the main agricultural pests, caterpillars, stink bugs and nematodes.

New challenges will not fail to bring to the laboratories of this Unit which, due to its unique characteristics, works in partnership with all Embrapa research centers, at all levels, whether in the lines of advanced research in synthetic biology and nanotechnology that already contribute to the advancement of science and have been highlighted when it comes to the quality of their scientific publications and patents registered in more than 130 countries.

In addition to these challenges, there is also the task of coordinating the Germplasm Curation System for exchange processes, for all institutions belonging to the National Agricultural Research System (SNPA). Through this service, Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology analyzes, in its Quarantine Laboratories, all plant materials imported for research, preventing the introduction of exogenous diseases and pests and ensuring the continuity of agricultural activities in the country.

With more than 26 projects underway in the public-private partnership modality and dozens of technologies in the final stages of being placed on the market, new challenges continue to appear in the Unit's laboratories, with teams being called upon to collaborate in the search for solutions that meet the demands of the society.