Seedless table grapes, smaller melons, tastier sole, or easier-to-pick olives. These are some of the applications of thebiotechnologyof the Genoma Foundation that are already present in theshopping basket.
“Since human beings dominate the world, they have tried to domesticate plants and animals for their benefit and, with this, they have starred in such a genetic improvement process that the foods we know today have little to do with primitive ones?” Says its director , Fernando Garcés, who highlights that the Genoma Foundation focuses its research on those aspects of food that arouse the greatest interest among the producers themselves.
Thus, for example, the study ofsole, calledPleurogene, has made it possible to sequence their genetic map and select the “liveliest and strongest” fingerling broodstock to reduce malformations and control the cultivation of the species in captivity. As a consequence, Spain could soon lead the production of this fish in the world. Among the next candidates to be studied are hake, octopus, cuttlefish or cuttlefish.
For its part,olive oil and table olivesthey are protagonists of the projectOligen, launched this year, which studies how to make the fruit fall more easily or that the tree can grow in the form of a hedge to improve themechanized pickup.
Another project of the foundation isGrapeGen, a study on thetable grapewhich has identified the genes and proteins associated with the quality traits of the grapevine. The study of 600 grape varieties has concluded that “by crossing very few varieties we can obtain new ones that, if they manage to be crunchy, seedless or with antioxidants, will allow the market to be modified and force other companies to pay.royalties“.
On the other hand, the Genoma Foundation has also announced that next year it will hold a competition to develop research on how to obtainenergy from algae or enzymes.
