UB and IRBio experts participate in the genome sequencing of the avocado
The avocado genome has been sequenced by an international team in which the researchers Julio Rozas and Alejandro Sáncez-Gracia, from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the UB (IRBio), and members of the platform Bioinformatics Barcelona (BIB) have taken part too.
The new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), will help improve the programs of genetic modification to optimize the growth of this plant –green gold in the international market- and promote its resistance towards pathogenic agents and diseases, among other aspects.
The study counts on other participants from about twenty institutions, under the supervision of the researchers Luis Herrera-Estrella (Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico), and Víctor A. Albert, from the University of Buffalo (New York, United States).
Improving agricultural productivity in world crops
The new study brings a new essential perspective to conduct association studies on the species genome and to find the genes –and different genetic variants- that determine the most relevant features for the economy and productivity of agriculture.
In this context, the Research Group on Evolutionary Genomics and Bioinformatics of the UB conducted several scientific collaborations with the team of the lecturer Víctor A. Albert, among which stands out the study that identified genetic changes that enabled the adaption of carnivorous diet in different plants (Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017), an evolutionary process that has been independently repeated in several species using the same molecular solutions.
The UB-IRBio team of experts had a distinguished participation in the sequencing of the genomes of different organisms such as the tick (Ixodes scapularis), centipede (Strigamia maritima), coffee (Coffea canephora), and the body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus), among others.
More information