Cutting-edge Genome Center boosts biotechnology R&D

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos now have access to cutting-edge tools to enhance farm yields and make new medicines.

All these, with the help of high-performance computers at the Philippine Genome Center (PGC). 

The PGC at the University of the Philippines National Science Complex is part of the UP National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

The facility is not just for UP students and academics but for all researchers doing genomics studies in schools, private and public institutions and industries.

It will be the country’s “most comprehensive resource for genomic research on health and disease, agriculture, biodiversity, forensics and ethnicity, industry and environment,” said Carmencita Padilla, PGC executive director.

Genomics research – a discipline in genetics studies that sequence, assemble and analyze the function and structure of genomes or the complete set of DNA within a single cell of an organism – can lead to the development of higher yielding plants, better crops, trees, fish and livestock.

In agriculture, for example, the Department of Science and Technology has identified 10 priority agriculture commodities: coconut, mango, banana, milkfish, shrimp, tilapia, rubber, mud crab, coffee and rice.

The PGC Program on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries is doing R&D to improve the performance of high value commodities (abaca, coconut, banana, sugarcane and pili) and to prevent a disease that cause mass mortality in shrimps.

The abaca genome project aims to discover genes and molecular markers for traits that give good fiber quality and resistance to the abaca bunchy top virus. Molecular or genetic markers are fragments of DNA that are associated with a certain location within the genome, the genetic material of an organism. These genes and markers are useful in breeding improved varieties.

Molecular markers will be used to improve coconut varieties that yield more nuts, copra and oil and are resistant to pests and diseases. As many as 150 nuts per tree per year is possible.

Genetic diversity analysis and the “fingerprinting” of 81 saba banana varieties have identified potential genetic markers. Mutant lines are being developed to provide saba markers and identify genes with desirable traits such as resistance to the bunchy top virus disease that affects bananas.

Usually it takes up to 10 years to develop a new sugarcane variety because the crop has a complex genetic nature and relatively long life cycle. Breeding will be fast-tracked at the PGC, again by using genetic markers. A three-year program will try to increase yields by focusing on desirable traits: high sucrose content and resistance to two fungal diseases – downy mildew and smut.

The genetic diversity of the pili nut – as well as fruit and tree characteristics – will be  evaluated as well.

The PGC will also look at how diseases spread and affect shrimp production, hopefully to develop affordable detection tools. It will sequence the whole genomes of shrimp diseases, an effort that will be useful for identifying DNA markers for tracing the sources of infection and determine the mechanisms of infection.

William Padolina, president of the National Academy of Science and Technology, chairs the PGC’s scientific advisory committee for agriculture. – SciencePhilippines (SciencePhilippines is a start-up science news service for community – based and Metro Manila newspapers).