LIMA, April 29, 2022. With the aim of raising awareness of the potential of research with microorganisms and their technological applications, the Ministry of Production of Peru (PRODUCE), together with the CIICAM Research Center and the Ministry of the Environment of Peru (MINAM), through the GEF-ABS-Nagoya Project, held a virtual seminar with experts from Brazil, Colombia and Peru, who shared their experiences in the current research processes on microbial diversity.
The virtual event called “Microbial bioprospecting with biotechnological application” was inaugurated by Jessica María Amanzo Alcántara, Director of Genetic Resources and Biosafety (MINAM), who considered that this space will allow the development of new projects that achieve advances in microbial research, and to understand its nature for the benefit of human welfare.
Jessica Amanzo, Director of Genetic Resources and Biosafety (MINAM) welcomed the speakers and participants of the seminar.
She also highlighted the importance of the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, which provides the tools and methods to protect ex situ and in situ genetic resources through conservation, and allows this part of Peruvian diversity to be valued, both in the academic world and in other areas where it can be shared.
The event emphasized the advances made in the development of new compounds for therapeutic and pharmacological use, obtained through the analysis of microorganisms with biotechnological applications; the topic was presented by Brazilian researcher Rene Flores Clavo (Brazil), general director of the CIICAM Research Center and researcher at the Directorate of Microbial Resources-CPQBA-UNICAMP.
Likewise, new results were presented on microbial resistance from its diagnosis to its importance in clinical diagnosis for the correct use of therapeutic drugs, presented by researcher Zhandra Arce Gil (Peru), as part of her work on projects in the area of clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, resistance of pathogenic microorganisms and detection of variations in DNA.
Nataly Ruiz Quiñones from Colombia explained the procedures and value provided by the Nagoya Protocol in access to microbial cultures for research with this resource, in order to guarantee its conservation and to ensure fair treatment of the people who are in charge of protecting it.
The event included other specialists such as Derlene Attili de Angelis (Brazil), Fabiana Fantinatti Garboggini (Brazil), Tiago Ferreira Leão (Brazil), Taícia Pacheco Fill (Brazil) and Pedro Henrique Riboldi Monteiro (Brazil), who commented on their research with biotechnological applications and genetic improvement to create solutions to the problems it is causing among plants and fruit trees.
The Zoom event was attended by more than 400 people from different regions of Peru and the world, who were able to have contact with the researchers to resolve their doubts and establish alliances to obtain updated and specialized information that will be useful in future research.
The Ministry of Environment of Peru (MINAM), through the GEF-ABS-Nagoya Project, aims to strengthen national capacities for the effective implementation of regimes for access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge, in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol.
By promoting the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and by strengthening opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use, the Protocol will create incentives to conserve biological diversity and to sustainably use its components, and will further enhance the contribution of biological diversity to sustainable development and human well-being.
