Estamos em contagem decrescente para a Feira Nacional de Agricultura (FNA), uma das maiores feiras agrícolas do país!
É já de 7 a 15 de junho que o InPP vai estar na 61ª edição da Feira Nacional de Agricultura, que se realiza no CNEMA – Centro Nacional de Exposições, em Santarém.
O tema da edição deste ano é “Biosoluções”e pretende destacar a importância das soluções e tecnologias inovadoras no setor agroalimentar e na promoção de práticas mais sustentáveis e eficientes.
A FNA reúne agricultores, empresários e especialistas dos setores agroalimentar, pecuário e agrícola e é um excelente espaço para aumentar a nossa rede de contactos, trocar conhecimentos e apresentar as mais recentes tendências e soluções agrícolas que a nossa equipa tem desenvolvido.
Vai poder encontrar-nos no stand nº.18, à entrada do Espaço dos claustros, dedicado à Agenda InsectERA, entre as 10h e as 20h.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in the National Olive Growing Fair (FNO 25) in Campo Maior, from May 23 to 25, presenting its latest biological and digital innovations for crop protection, including projects focused on biopesticides for olive diseases and early detection of fungi that cause gafa, and monitoring insect vectors of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which attacks olive groves. The Elvas CoLAB was present with its own stand to demonstrate its strengths and the impact of its research on agricultural sustainability, inviting producers, technicians and researchers to learn about its innovative bio-based and digital solutions and to actively participate in the discussion of the sector's challenges.
The collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) welcomed visitors at the stand no. 14, located at thematic area at the Campo Maior Municipal Garden, to showcase their activity, the ongoing projects that are developing solutions to the main olive diseases, the patents already submitted, the apps for agricultural management and the bio-based and digital products and services they have to offer the agricultural sector and the market. Throughout the three days of the fair, some of InPP's researchers were at the stand to demonstrate to visitors the various features of the Elvas CoLAB, which has been developing innovation that it hopes will contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems.
InPP announced ValorCannBio project, which is processing biomass that is not used in the medical cannabis industry to develop effective and sustainable biopesticides against gafa and tuberculosis, The project will be carried out in the municipality of Elvas, which is responsible for decimating entire harvests, leading to severe economic losses and compromising food quality. The impact of this project will be felt in the municipality of Elvas, where the project is being developed, but it is expected that it will extend to the entire olive-growing region from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve, where production losses are increasing due to these diseases. O AlViGen project was also one of the protagonists and is using cutting-edge technology to detecting and identifying the strains of fungi that cause gafa, long before the symptoms become visible. The project team has used traps to collect spores that circulate in the air to monitor the presence of fungi, which can give farmers an important advantage in preventing infections and protecting their crops, reducing production losses.
O SNM_XylellaVt project, The SNM_XylellaVt project, led by DRAPCENTRO and in which InPP actively participates, was also highlighted at FNO. SNM_XylellaVt is monitor the insect vectors of the bacteria Xyllela fastidiosa, in particular the foam leafhopper, the insect responsible for transmitting the bacterium, which attacks various agricultural and forestry crops, and in particular olive groves. The project team is developing new tools, such as risk prediction models which, in the presence of the bacterium, whether in plants or insect vectors, will allow the National Agricultural Warning Service (SNAA) to alert, in real time, about the economic attack levels (EAL) for these insects, thus allowing prevent infection of the main crops. As part of this project, the team has also developed an online platform where citizens can report the sighting of foams, which are signs of the presence of the insect vectors of X. fastidiosa, This will help to map its temporal and spatial distribution and to plan measures to combat this bacterium.
The FNO, organized jointly by the Campo Maior City Council and the Centre for the Study and Promotion of Olive Oil in the Alentejo (CEPAAL), is an event that aims to enhance national olive growing, and in particular Portuguese olive oil, boosting the local economy and bringing together professionals from the sector - producers, technicians, or researchers - from all over the country to discuss challenges and trends in the Portuguese olive and olive oil sector.
Each year, crop diseases cause devastating losses in agricultural production, threatening food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers. In the heart of Alentejo, an innovative project is harnessing the power of genomics to help combat these invisible threats. The AlViGen Project, with the participation of InnovPlantProtect researchers Rute Rego and João Bilro, is paving the way for a new era of crop surveillance and protection.
The Problem and the Solution
“Yellow rust in wheat and olive quick decline syndrome are real scourges for farmers,” explains Rute Rego, a researcher at AlViGen. “These diseases can decimate entire harvests, leading to severe economic losses and compromising food quality.”
But AlViGen is not limited to observing the problem. The team is using cutting-edge technology to detect and identify the strains of fungi that cause these diseases, long before the symptoms become visible.
“We use traps to collect spores circulating in the air,” Rute continues. “These traps allow us to monitor the presence of fungi in real-time, which gives us an important advantage in preventing infections.”
But the magic happens in the laboratory, where the team extracts the DNA from the spores and performs advanced genomic analyses, using powerful DNA sequencing technology based on the metabarcoding method, carried out with cutting-edge technology like the portable Nanopore sequencer.
Rute Rego, a researcher at InnovPlantProtect, analyzes samples of the fungus causing olive quick decline syndrome as part of the AlViGen project.
Unraveling the Genetic Code of Fungi
To better explain what metabarcoding is and its advantage in detecting the presence of species or strains of fungi that cause diseases in crops, the researcher gives the example of a bag full of different types of grains - rice, beans, corn - being analyzed by the reader. “Metabarcoding is like placing a unique label (a ‘barcode’) on each type of grain. Then, you can mix all the grains in a single sample, and by reading the labels, you can identify the quantity of each type of grain present.'”
In the case of AlViGen, this technique allows for the analysis of multiple fungal species simultaneously (in multiple samples), each with its own genetic ‘barcode,’ and to ‘identify exactly which fungi are present, even in small quantities,'” the researcher explains.
And what is the practical impact of this method for monitoring and predicting disease? The AlViGen project researcher can identify, with high precision, the moment when the pathogenic agent begins to appear in the field, which makes it possible to alert farmers in real-time about the risk of disease. Producers can adopt preventative measures and apply the necessary products to avoid infection, contributing to a rapid and effective response in disease prevention.
The Timeline of Fungal Evolution
AlViGen's research is not limited to identifying the microorganisms harmful to crops; it also seeks to understand their evolution and diversity. João Bilro, another researcher on the project, is dedicated to studying the phylogeny of the Colletotrichum fungus, a microorganism responsible for causing olive anthracnose or blight, a disease that affects olive groves in Portugal. This disease mainly affects the olives, which compromises the quality of the olive oil.
“Phylogeny is crucial for understanding how the different strains of Colletotrichum Just as a family tree traces the history of a family, showing how members are related to each other, phylogenetic trees reveal the evolutionary relationships between the different strains of this fungus. Each branch of the tree represents an evolutionary lineage, and the nodes indicate common ancestors. By comparing the DNA sequences of these strains, we can reconstruct their evolutionary history, identifying which are genetically closer or more distant, and thus infer characteristics such as virulence or resistance to fungicides,” he reveals.
This knowledge allows researchers to identify patterns of dissemination and adaptation of the fungus, which is fundamental for developing more effective strategies to contain and/or reduce the damage this fungus causes to Portuguese olive groves.
“One of the challenges of our research is the great genetic diversity of the Colletotrichum,” admits João. “However, by uncovering their evolutionary secrets, we are paving the way for the development of more precise and targeted detection and control methods.”
Left photo: João Bilro, a bioinformatician at InnovPlantProtect, studying the phylogeny of the Colletotrichum fungus within the scope of the AlViGen project; Right photo: Rute Rego and João Bilro discuss ideas about the AlViGen project.
The Future of Agriculture Starts Here
The AlViGen Project aims to have a significant impact on the agricultural landscape, especially in Alentejo, a region with a strong agricultural tradition. By providing farmers with early detection tools and precise information about the microorganisms that cause crop diseases, the project intends to aid in decision-making, allowing farmers to protect their crops and reduce production losses.
“Our ultimate goal is to empower farmers with the knowledge and tools they need to protect their crops sustainably,” states Rute. “We believe that genomic surveillance is a key tool for the future of crop protection.”
João Bilro agrees and adds, “Continuous research is fundamental to keep up with the evolution of harmful microorganisms and to develop new, consistently effective control strategies. In the future, we hope to expand the scope of AlViGen to include other microorganisms and crops, and to make genomic surveillance an accessible tool for all farmers.”
Science at the Service of Agriculture
The AlViGen Project, supported by the Promove Program of the “la Caixa” Foundation, in partnership with Banco BPI and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), is an inspiring example of how science and technology can be applied to solve real-world problems and transform agriculture. By unraveling the genetic secrets of crop microorganisms, Rute Rego and João Bilro are paving the way for a safer, more sustainable, and resilient agriculture.
The fight against crop diseases continues, but with AlViGen, farmers can finally see the enemy before it becomes visible.
Elvas collaborative laboratory distinguished by Rural Life as “the most significant investment in the last year in the agricultural and agro-industrial sector”.
“Investment that makes a mark” 2021 is the name of the prize awarded today to InnovPlantProtect by Rural Life. The award, conferred by the editorial board of the professional agribusiness magazine, recognizes the most significant investment in the last year in the agricultural and agro-industrial sector at a national level.
The choice of the collaborative laboratory (CoLab), based in Elvas, “aims to reinforce the importance of investing in research and innovation in a key area for the future of agriculture: the search for biologically-based solutions for crop protection, in a challenging context, in which it is necessary to ensure the production of food in an increasingly sustainable way,” explains Isabel Martins, director of the company. Rural Life and publications coordinator at IFE.
One of the laboratories in the current, temporary premises.
Field work on a property owned by Fertiprado.
This award “honors the initiative of the 12 founding partners to create an innovative institution to develop biological and digital solutions for crop protection,” says Pedro Fevereiro, the CoLab's executive director, adding: “It's an incentive for InnovPlantProtect, which set up in a low-density region and managed to attract 38 highly qualified human resources to set up a modern innovation unit. It also rewards the vision of the municipality of Elvas, which embraced this challenge from the outset.”
The “Investment that Makes a Mark” 2021 award was presented during the 8th edition of the AgroIn - Annual Agribusiness Congress, organized by Rural Life/ IFE, held in the auditorium of the Faculty of Dental Medicine of the University of Lisbon.
Pedro Fevereiro, executive director of InnovPlantProtect
The InPP team, like scientists around the world, concludes that new techniques can mitigate the challenges posed by climate change and the continuing increase in the world's population.
We know that in order to feed the world's population in 2050, we will have to increase food production by 70% [1]. And we also know that agriculture is under intense pressure to meet the sustainability goals of the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy, This is under pressure from climate change and the increase in pests and diseases attacking crops.
A team from InnovPlantProtect (InPP) reviewed hundreds of scientific articles published in recent years and concluded that “genome editing is an important tool for improving food security in a sustainable way and mitigating the challenges posed by global climate change and the expansion of the world's population”. The review article [2], entitled Genome editing for resistance against plant pests and pathogens, has just been published in Transgenic Research.
“The development of new tools to improve plant protection is critical in the context of current agricultural, environmental and ecological challenges,” say the researchers, adding that “various efforts in the area of genome editing have resulted in plants with potentially beneficial characteristics that can be quickly and easily applied in the field.”.
Crops are invariably exposed to pests and diseases (left). In order to speed up the plant breeding process, genome editing technologies such as CRISPR-Cas make it possible to introduce resistance mechanisms or remove susceptibility quickly and precisely (right).
The team analyzed the latest advances in genome editing with a view to improving plant protection, focusing on editing the genomes of crops, pests and pathogens based on the CRISPR-Cas technique (Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020). The researchers did not forget other technologies, such as host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) and the use of biocontrol agents, discussing how CRISPR-Cas can be used to accelerate the development of ecological strategies that promote sustainable agriculture in the future.
[HIGS consists of the plant producing small molecules of RNA (ribonucleic acid), which lead to the silencing of the pathogen's genes; silencing a gene means “canceling” its expression].
As genome editing does not require crossbreeding, the authors of the article point out, it avoids the introduction of unwanted characteristics through genetic linkage (a situation in which a gene with a positive characteristic is physically linked to a gene that confers negative characteristics) in improved varieties, speeding up the entire breeding process.
In addition, genome editing technologies can directly target the susceptibility genes or virulence factors of pests and pathogens, either by directly editing the genome of the pest in question, or by adding genome editing mechanisms to the plant genome, or to microorganisms that act as biocontrol agents.
Several studies have shown that the targeted inactivation of susceptibility genes through genome editing is a solid strategy for crop protection, capable of producing non-transgenic plants. The technique has been shown to be particularly effective in editing susceptibility genes to pathogenic bacteria and fungi.
“The potential impact of genome editing, and CRISPR technology in particular, on plant synthetic biology to improve resistance to pests and diseases is enormous and will have a direct effect on agricultural sustainability on a scale never seen before,” the team concludes.
Original article:
Rato, C., Carvalho, M.F., Azevedo, C. & Oblessuc, Paula. Genome editing for resistance against plant pests and pathogens. Transgenic Research (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-021-00262-x
Elvas City Council promotes a visit to the works in progress at InnovPlantProtect and at the Elvense pole of the National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research.
The work in progress at INIAV Elvas, including those that will accommodate the permanent facilities of the InnovPlantProtect (InPP), were visited yesterday, June 16, by a delegation that included the president of the Elvas City Council, Nuno Mocinha, the vice-president of the municipality, Cláudio Carapuça, as well as a number of council technicians, the presidents of parish councils in the municipality and representatives of the media.
InPP is an institution that wants to last for many, many years, not a “one-off project”, said the executive director of the collaborative laboratory (CoLab). Pedro February He also highlighted the fact that the research and innovation carried out here “leaves” the laboratory for the field, in the form of specific, biologically-based products and services supplied to companies, farmers and producers, among others.
Nuno Mocinha stressed the CoLab's great importance for agriculture and the region, particularly thanks to the establishment of highly qualified workers dedicated to science and technology applied in the field.
The visit took place as part of a tour promoted by the CME of some of the works underway in the municipality.
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