Pedro Rocha | Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricult (original) (raw)

Papers by Pedro Rocha

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2022

La incidencia de la pudricion de cogollo (PC) en Colombia, especialmente en la Zona Oriental del ... more La incidencia de la pudricion de cogollo (PC) en Colombia, especialmente en la Zona Oriental del pais, ha agudizado las perdidas economicas del sector debido a una disminucion media de 28,6 por ciento en la produccion de aceite por palma. Por tanto, el programa de mejoramiento genetico de Cenipalma, con su laboratorio de marcadores moleculares, incorpora metodologias tales como RAPD, AFLP y microsatelites (SSR), para acelerar o apoyar la seleccion de individuos tolerantes a esta enfermedad. En el presente estudio, se utilizaron muestras foliares de palma de aceite provenientes de materiales E. guineensis, de diferentes casas comerciales y E. oleifera del banco de germoplasma de Cenipalma. El ADN de estos materiales fue aislado mediante el empleo de una nueva metodologia de extraccion que se reporta aqui. El ADN obtenido fue analizado con las tecnicas RAPD, AFLP y SSR. Con los puntos de informacion obtenidos de cada tecnica se establecieron relaciones de similitud genetica entre las ...

La agrobiotecnología es una tecnología eficaz, constituida por numerosas y variadas técnicas. Den... more La agrobiotecnología es una tecnología eficaz, constituida por numerosas y variadas técnicas. Dentro de ellas están las de hibridación, el cultivo in vitro de células y tejidos, la fermentación, el control biológico con microorganismos y algunas que no utilizan organismos vivos. En el presente artículo se describen brevemente algunas de ellas y se presentan conceptos que permiten aclarar la relación de la transgénesis, una de las múltiples técnicas, con la agrobiotecnología. Además, se expone brevemente la posición del IICA sobre la biotecnología y sus interrelaciones con otras áreas.

Baculoviruses are a family of double – stranded DNA viruses that infect insects and some crustace... more Baculoviruses are a family of double – stranded DNA viruses that infect insects and some crustaceans specifically. Among of the pathogens used to control pests in the crop, the baculoviruses have been widely used because of their ability to control insect pests without generating cross patogenicity to other nontarget species, which work as natural enemies of the same pests. In this review, we show the general features of the baculoviruses and their use as biological insecticides. In addition, some of the results related with the in vitro multiplication of baculoviruses, and obtained by Cenipalma, are show here. Finally, general considerations to use baculovirus as potential biological insecticides in the control of insect pests in the oil palm crop are presented. (In Spanish) RESUMEN Los baculovirus son una familia de virus de ADN de doble cadena que infectan específicamente insectos y algunos crustáceos. Dentro de los patógenos utilizados para controlar plagas en los cultivos, los ...

La bioeconomía es una visión de una sociedad menos dependiente de los recursos fósiles para satis... more La bioeconomía es una visión de una sociedad menos dependiente de los recursos fósiles para satisfacer sus necesidades de energía y materias primas (Trigo & Henry, 2011) en respuesta a los retos relacionados con el aumento de la población mundial, la demanda por productos alimenticios y no alimenticios, el agotamiento de los recursos naturales y uso de la biodiversidad, la dotación y suministro de energía y el impacto del cambio climático (Barrera, 2011). Con el fin de conocer las bases que sustentarían el desarrollo de la bioeconomía en América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) y explorar las posibilidades de su relacionamiento con los países de Europa, se viene desarrollando el proyecto “Towards a Latin America and Caribbean Knowledge Based Bio-Economy in partnership with Europe” (ALCUE-KBBE). Dentro de las actividades de este proyecto se han llevado a cabo ejercicios metodológicos (que incluyen consulta electrónica, encuesta, análisis DOFA y discusiones con diversos sectores) a través de ...

The American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera) is a strategic resource for the development of the Colomb... more The American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera) is a strategic resource for the development of the Colombian oil palm sector. Due to the potential of this species for improving competitiveness and sustainability of the oil palm cultivars, Cenipalma has carried out prospecting activities of E. oleifera in the Colombian Amazonia. With the financial support of different entities and attending the Colombian law for accessing to biological resources, an E. oleifera core collection was established. Nowadays, the bank includes 78 accessions; therefore it is the third biggest collection of this species in the world. Recently and with the financial support of Colciencias, this germplasm collection has been partially characterised at different levels. At biochemical level, several methodologies were standardized for the detection and quantification of vitamin E (-tocopherol), - and -carotenes in leaflets from oil palm leaves. Quantification of 52 materials showed variable contents of carotenes (55...

Plant Science, 2002

The cDNAs from Hyoscyamus niger , encoding two enzymes of tropane-alkaloid biosynthesis, tropinon... more The cDNAs from Hyoscyamus niger , encoding two enzymes of tropane-alkaloid biosynthesis, tropinone reductase I (TR-I) and hyoscyamine-6b-hydroxylase (H6H), have been simultaneously introduced into Nicotiana tabacum using particle bombardment and expressed under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter. Southern and Northern analyses confirmed integration and transcript accumulation for both tr1 and h6h. Fertile tobacco plants expressing both transgenes were regenerated and detached leaves of these plants were fed with tropinone and hyoscyamine, the substrates, respectively, of TR-I and H6H. Besides the expected TR-I and H6H reaction products, acetylated forms of tropine were also generated in these experiments, indicating that the expression of alkaloidpathway enzymes in a transgenic background can produce unexpected substances. In addition, leaves of the transgenic plants showed in most cases higher nicotine content than leaves of control plants. Nicotine levels were approximately 3-to 13-fold higher in both the parental transgenic lines and in T 1 progeny expressing functional TR-I and H6H, compared to levels in wild-type plants and in transgenic plants carrying the nptII transgene alone. In addition, nicotine related compounds such as anatabine, nornicotine, bipyridine, anabasine, and myosmine were identified in transgenic tobacco lines and below detection limit in wild-type plants, suggesting changes in the activity of the enzymes in the nicotine biosynthetic pathway in the transgenic background.

A new disease, called lethal wilt (or ML in Spanish), is the responsible for the death of more th... more A new disease, called lethal wilt (or ML in Spanish), is the responsible for the death of more than 14,500 oil palms in the Colombian East Zone. The cumulative losses to November 2003 are estimated in more than 100 Ha. In its origins, this lethal disease was considered the African vascular wilt. However, the experiments showed here demonstrate that the new disease is not related to the African fusariosis. Due to the lacking of knowledge about the causal agent of the disease, several hypotheses have been proposed including the presence of phytoplasms, bacteria and fungi. Inside the last hypothesis, experiments with 52 isolates from Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium spp. were isolated from sick palms and inoculated in oil palm plantlets. These plantlets did not show any of the typical (either external or internal) African-vascular-wilt symptoms reported for oil palm plantlets. As a main conclusion, the new disease present in this region is different to the African vascular wilt caused b...

One of the most important contributions to biology has been the recognition of the DNA as the “li... more One of the most important contributions to biology has been the recognition of the DNA as the “life’s molecule”. The study of its physico-chemical and biological properties has developed, in less than 50 years, a complete different approach in relation to the origin, flux, and storage of genetic information in all known living-forms. Because inside the DNA molecule are ciphered the instructions that define all the characteristics of any organism, several technologies and systems of data analysis have been developed for the caracterisation of this molecule. The results of such studies have demonstrated that characters such as resistance against diseases, productivity potential, size and colour of fruits are due to the expression of genetic information and its interaction with the environment. Nowadays, the use of this knowledge is a fundamental tool in breeding programms. In this review, some basic concepts and explanations about methods currently used for DNA extraction, in particul...

Property of ideas is the milestone of the technological development. As a consequence, countries ... more Property of ideas is the milestone of the technological development. As a consequence, countries have established their own legislation, or incorporated international rules, in order to protect the intellectual property. The application of these legislations will generate proper conditions to exploit and to share the benefits of scientific and technological progress at social and economical levels. Copyright, industrial property and obtention of new plant varieties are the three big areas included under the name of intellectual property. The Colombian oil palm sector together with its research institute (Cenipalma), has the responsability to negotiate and to protect its inventions in order to support the competitivity of the oil palm sector. In this paper, and under the point of view of a scientific researcher, basic concepts about intellectual property and forms to protect it are presented. (In Spanish) RESUMEN La propiedad sobre las ideas es el fundamento del desarrollo tecnológic...

Respuestas

Los cultivos de palma de aceite en el mundo provienen,en su mayoría, de cuatro palmas mantenidas ... more Los cultivos de palma de aceite en el mundo provienen,en su mayoría, de cuatro palmas mantenidas en el jardín botánico de Bogor. Sin embargo, la evidencia experimental sugiere que el centro de origen de la palma de aceite, Elaeis guineensis Jacq., está en el continente Africano. Para desarrollar el cultivo de la palma de aceite en Colombia, es necesario ampliar la estrecha base genética de esta especie. Por esta razón, Cenipalma ha llevado a cabo prospecciones y colectas de material en cinco regiones naturales de la República de Angola. Alrededor de 44 accesiones (120 semillas por accesión) fueron colectadas, las semillas germinadas y las palmas establecidas bajo condiciones de campo en el Campo Experimental Palmar de La Vizcaína (Barrancabermeja). En el presente artículo, se reportan los resultados del análisis de caracterización molecular, basados en la amplificación de 16 loci microsatélites, de 72 genotipos, en representación de cinco poblaciones, de la colección de E. guineensi...

In vitro techniques in oil palm have been considered as an important option for increasing yield.... more In vitro techniques in oil palm have been considered as an important option for increasing yield. So, in the decade of 1970, clonal propagation of elite material was started. However, in its first phase, such technology gave very poor results for oil palm, in particular, associated to the somaclonal variation due to the hormonal unbalance. Then, and after hard research work, in vitro propagation techniques have been optimised and basic knowledge has been generated in order to diminish presence of such aberrant palms. Several molecular tools have been implemented, and nowadays, evaluations of clonal field trials shown the viability and possibility of use clonal material at commercial scale. In this paper, a review on oil palm cloning technology is presented, including problems and relevance for the Colombian oil palm sector. (In Spanish) Resumen Las técnicas de cultivo in vitro en palma de aceite se han considerado como una opción importante para el incremento de la productividad de ...

Cathmnthus roseus es una planta medicinal productora de varios alcaloides indol terpenoides (AIT)... more Cathmnthus roseus es una planta medicinal productora de varios alcaloides indol terpenoides (AIT) con actividad farmacologica. Empleando plantas y cultivos celulares de C. roseus la ruta biosintetica de AIT ha sido determinada, ademas, un considerable numero de sus enzimas ha sido caracterizado y sus respectivos genes clonados. La produccion de AIT en plantas y cultivos celulares de C. roseus esta altamente regulada a nivel transcripcional, es dependiente de los estados de desarrollo y puede ser alterada, entre otros factores, por sometimiento a estres luminoso y tratamiento con elicitores bioticos y abioticos. Estudios sobre la regulacion de los genes involucrados en la biosintesis de AIT han sido llevados a cabo en cultivos celulares, sin embargo poco se conoce acerca de la regulacion de los mismos en plantas. En los experimentos reportados aqui, se presenta un examen cualitativo de los niveles de expresion de los genes idc r strl, d4h y dat que codifican enzimas importantes en la...

RESUMENSUMMARY 1 Biologa. Candidata a MSc. Fisiologia. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. E-mail: ... more RESUMENSUMMARY 1 Biologa. Candidata a MSc. Fisiologia. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. E-mail: cmendoza@ciencias.unal.edu.co2 Biologo. PhD. Investigador Titular, Laboratorio de Marcadores Moleculares, Area de Fisiologia y Mejoramiento.Cenipalma, Calle 21 #42C-47, Bogota D.C., Colombia. E-mail: pedro.rocha@cenipalma.org PALMAS - Vol. 23 No. 4, 2002 39 Las poliaminas (PA) son pequenas moleculas presentes en todos los seres vivos. Debido a sus caracteristicasbioquimicas estan implicadas en una serie de importantes procesos celulares, en eventos del crecimiento y desarrollovegetal y en la respuesta de las plantas a condiciones de estres. En esta revision se presentan sus caracteristicas y laruta metabolica de su biosintesis. Asi mismo se mencionan algunas de las funciones que cumplen en las plantas,por lo cual pueden ser catalogadas como reguladores del crecimiento vegetal (fitohormonas). Finalmente se presentanalgunos usos que se han dado a las poliaminas en especies de interes agric...

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2022

Plant Science, 2002

Respuestas

This paper presents a brief analysis of the institutional dimensions, focused on policies and ins... more This paper presents a brief analysis of the institutional dimensions, focused on policies and institutions, for the development of bioeocnomy in LAC.