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According to Professor Manuel Acosta Echeverría, responsible for the research with Professor Antonio Cano Lario, this research, which has been published in impact journals such as Plos One or BMC Genomics, "has been achieved by obtaining a standardized collection of tools Molecules in Cultivated Carnation ".
By means of advanced genetic analysis techniques the genes that are expressed in carnation cuttings during the formation of adventitious roots have been studied.The results obtained are being used for the design of molecular markers that allow the selection of carnation varieties with a better rooting ", According to Acosta Echeverría.
This improvement in rooting capacity will allow companies to reduce the costs of propagating the new varieties of the plant that are currently being developed.
Markers are also sought to increase resistance to pests or determine the color and shape of flowers.
The carnation is, after the rose, the most important species in the world market cut flower, with an annual sales volume of almost 200 million plants.
This high demand has created a highly competitive sector in which the rapid introduction of new varieties in the market is a fundamental factor for the success of the companies producing ornamental plants.
The advances of the last decade, especially in genomics, ultrasecution and bioinformatics, have revolutionized the field of genetic improvement, both in animal and plant species.
No transgenic plants are made, but we search for suitable markers that favor progress in the improvement.
Although the ultimate goal of the work is to improve plant productivity by transferring the knowledge generated in the laboratory, the researcher emphasizes the importance of knowledge in basic science, and emphasizes that it is necessary to first know in depth the behavior of species at the molecular level for To be able to produce more, better and in more and more adverse conditions.
In order to contribute to these demands, the CARNOMICS project was launched, developed by an international consortium in which the University of Murcia collaborates with two companies: the Dutch company Genetwister Technologies BV (GT) and the Barberet & Blanc (B & B) group Dümmen Orange, Based in Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia).
The second is a world leader in the production of cuttings for ornamental plant.
Also participating in the project are researchers from the Universidad Miguel Hernández (Elche).
A rising sector
The agri-food sector is one of the most outstanding in Murcia for its contribution to the regional economy and the Spanish GDP as a whole, which has led it to consolidate, together with horticultural production, as a small exporting power of flowers and ornamental plants.
The sector accounts for more than 3% of all regional agricultural production, with sales abroad (between January and June 2016) of 16 million euros.
Murcia is in fourth place as an export region after Andalusia, Comunidad Valenciana and Catalonia.
Given the potential growth of the export of ornamental plants, innovation is a key factor.
The project "CARNOMICS: Development of Molecular Tools for Genetic Improvement of Cultivated Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)" is funded through the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) with European funds from the Eureka-Eurostars program.
Source: Universidad de Murcia
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