miércoles, 26 de septiembre de 2007

INTA - National Institute for Agricultural Technology


I currently work full time for INTA (National Institute for Agricultural Technology) (www.inta.gov.ar), at Alfalfa Breeding Area and the Biotechnology Laboratory in Manfredi Agricultural Experimental Station (EEA Manfredi) – Córdoba. Throughout the country INTA has 42 experimental stations, 240 extension and technology transfer units (AER), and 12 research institutes. INTA contributes substantially to the production processes of the Argentine farming sector which needs to be able to compete in the world's new production and marketing scenario. Argentina’s goals for the agricultural sector, as part of the country's general economy, aims to increase production on a sustainable basis, not only for the internal market but also for exportation.
The Agricultural Experimental Station (EEA) of Manfredi (www.inta.gov.ar/manfredi) belongs to INTA’s Córdoba Regional Center and it develops activities in the northern-central portion of the province of Córdoba. It is located at 31º 49´ South and 63º 36´ West. The area has an average precipitation of 784 millimetres per year and an annual mean temperature of 16, 9 ºC. The Exp. Stn.’s area of influence it is 10,500,500 hectares that represents 62% of the province. The Station itself has 1318 hectares devoted to research, extension and production units for grains and milk. It is the headquarters for the National Breeding Programs of alfalfa, sorghum, sunflower and peanuts, all recently assisted by molecular techniques.
My position

In May 2003, I won a Research Scholarship to work at Manfredi Experimental Station on Alfalfa Breeding. The same year I began my studies for a Master degree on Plant Genetics at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (National University of Rosario). On march 2007 I completed my post graduate studies and since them I am a Junior Alfalfa Breeder. My thesis work was “Genetic characterization of root traits in alfalfa populations (Medicago sativa L.) selected for higher number of lateral roots”.
My present position and the kind of work/research I am engaged in.

Alfalfa is the most important forage crop for Argentina, which is the second largest alfalfa producer in the world. At present, there are approximately 5 million hectares planted to alfalfa in Argentina, mostly used under direct grazing for beef and dairy production.
INTA´s alfalfa breeding program is coordinated from the Manfredi Exp. Stn. It releases cultivars for the whole country and is financially assisted by Produsem SA, a private company associated to INTA through a joint venture since 1987.
In the last 15 years, 13 cultivars were released, reaching a significant proportion of the market share. At present, the program is based on traditional breeding techniques (phenotypic recurrent selection and strain crosses) to obtain synthetic varieties with high forage yield, long persistence and multiple pest resistance. Regarding the latter, the most important pests are anthracnose (Colletotrichum trifolii), phytophthora root rot (Phytophthora megasperma), blue aphid (Acyrthosiphon kondoi) and spotted alfalfa aphid (Terioaphis maculata). Resistant genotypes for these pests are identified through the selection protocols defined by the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference (NAAIC). There some other problems –like corky root (Xylaria spp), crown and root rots (several fungi) and leaf diseases (several fungi), on which only field selection techniques are used.
Even though the previously described program has been quite successful, it is evident that the incorporation of molecular tools will turn the breeding work much more efficient. In the last years, INTA has promoted the use of biotechnology as a one the institutional strongest technical policies. Manfredi was pointed out as one of the main locations within the national biotech laboratory network. In this context, I am involved since 2005 in the identification of alfalfa molecular markers (AFLPs) associated with disease resistance. So far, my collaboration within this project was related to detection of extreme alfalfa genotypes (resistant and susceptible), DNA extraction, and fragment amplification via PCR using specific primers.
On the other hand, at the Institute of Genetics (IGEAF)-INTA, Castelar (Buenos Aires), there are two other projects dealing with the development of alfalfa transgenic genotypes expressing Bt and condensed tannins.
In addition, in the near future, there exists the possibility that the Manfredi alfalfa breeding program develop another project (is association with IGEAF and Produsem SA) looking for transgenic alfalfa tolerant to salty soils. The expectation is that I’ll be involved in all these projects.


Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) breeding






The biotechnology lab