VaBiome: studying vanilla biodiversity to improve crop resistance
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The VaBiome project, funded by the National Agency of Research (ANR), Region Réunion and French Guiana Region, has three objectives. First, it will carry out a census, and the collection of little-understood vanilla species. Then, genetics takes over with a genetic resource characterization of each species using different molecular tools. This work will characterize every variety of vanilla in the world. The third axis will strive to improve vanilla, trying to select the best genes, and those which are more resistant to disease, to create new, more resistant, hybrids. This research will help producers to work on better-quality vanilla.
Currently, the Net-Biome network is considering opening up to regional Indo-Oceanic areas, namely: Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, and Mauritius but also to the African East Coast.
More information about Net-Biome.