CORTICEIRA AMORIM, through its subsidiary Amorim Cork Research, the Technology Transfer Association "Biocant" and the Portuguese National Institute for Biological Resources will give rise to a scientific research project entitled "GenoSuber - cork oak (Quercus Suber) genome sequencing project. Apcor - the Portuguese Cork Association and the Portuguese Forestry Industry Association are also partners to this project.
The project was formalized on last 9 February in the premises of Biocant. The Portuguese Prime Minister, José Sócrates, the Secretary of State for Science and Technology, Manuel Heitor, and several representatives of the entities involved in the project were present at the event. The main objective of this project is the knowledge of the genetic heritage of the cork oak, one of the tree species with a greater economic and social interest in Portugal. This will open a new field in forest related research - considered to be critical - and will trigger off the possibility of future investigations.
The importance of the cork oak, the base of an industry in which Portugal is the world's leader - translates into an international market share of 60% in cork products, the preservation of thousands of jobs and represents some 30% of the Portuguese exports of forest products - these are good reasons for substantiating the implementation of this project in our country.
The cork oak genome sequencing - using state-of-the-art technology - will open a new field of possibilities for the cork industry, as this will enable us to outline strategies for enhancing this forest tree species, including improving its resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses, promoting its rapid growth or increasing the cork production. This will have significant medium and long-term implications in the economic and productive sector.
Some of the genes to be studied are of particular interest to the cork industry, both as regards existing applications as well as applications that are still being developed.
The involvement of CORTICEIRA in this project is of great importance as it will enable our Company, based on its know-how and vertically integrated business structure, to identify a number of features in the genes with the most potential and very interesting to know.
The GenoSuber will occur over a 36-month period and will be divided into different phases. Four activities are planned as follows: (i) preliminary studies, (ii) acquisition and development of new knowledge and skills for development, (iii) development and promotion (iv) and dissemination of results of the research.
