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A través de una Unidad Asociada del CSIC, el CiQUS colaborará con la MBG en este proxecto que busca evitar efectos medioambientales asociados a la mayoría de los tratamientos agroquímicos del mercado.
Foto de Oleksandr Pidvalnyi en Pexels
An Associated Unit between the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and the Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC) will strengthen collaboration between the two centres. Although there was already a previous collaboration between them, this new formula allows the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) to articulate a more stable commitment with other institutions in common areas to that of its institutes.
The "Biocontrol de cultivos" unit will run for three years and will focus on studying the beneficial and sustainable effects of biocontrol agents and their secondary metabolites on different types of crops, such as the common bean, an issue that is still under-explored, both from the point of view of the different types of metabolites and the type of plant grown in our agrosystems. CiQUS researchers José Luis Mascareñas, Fernando López and Beatriz Orosa will be involved in this new unit. The Associated Unit aims to identify the most beneficial metabolites and their function. It will also design and synthesise in the laboratory (CiQUS) simpler chemically synthesised analogues that can exert the same behaviour on crops (MBG-CSIC).
The end is to increase the protection of legumes against diseases, promote their growth and improve the properties of their fruits and seeds, as well as to reduce the impact of agricultural production on the environment by limiting the use of agrochemicals, thus contributing to climate change mitigation. It also aims to identify pathogen effectors and understand their activity in blocking the plant's disease defence signalling pathway. This will help to avoid the environmental effects associated with most agrochemical treatments available on the market.