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Research
For approximately 15 years Metapontum Agrobios has been active in research, development, and the transfer of innovation in agro-industry, with particular attention to the development of biotechnological applications.
The goal our Research and Development is toward identifying new plant varieties using biotechnology, plant breeding and molecular marker assisted breeding. With this goal current projects include:
- The production and the purification of high value biological and nutritional products (e.g. antioxidants, vitamins, microelements) via induction by stress, in particular via agronomic practices, in crops.
- The pilot scale production and purification of heat shock proteins (HSP) in agricultural plants, such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa) for potential applications as immunostimulants in animals and humans.
- Pilot scale production of cellulose fibre from waste biomass by semi-solid fermentation.
- The development of a technological platform based on pervasive biomarkers (microarrays, AFLP, SNPs, molecular markers, and proteomic systems) and their application in the fields of medical diagnostics, the identification of quality markers and traceability of agro-alimentary products, the genetic improvement of plant cultivars, and in the phytosanitary certification of produced agricultural plant lines.
- The development of systems to measure the impact on the environment and human health of genetically modified plants and GMO foods. Genetic, protein and chemical profiling technologies, are being used to identify and characterize potential undesirable effects.
Agrobios collaborates as an operative unit for the FRUMISIS project financed by the Ministry of Agriculture by aiding in the genome sequencing of durum wheat and the preparation of a DNA microarray and EST library.
Information: Dott. Francesco Cellini
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