• Who are we?
  • In a nutshell
  • Our mandate
  • Our strategy
  • Our partnerships
  • CIRAD worldwide
  • Our values
• Research operations
  • Priority lines of research
  • Research Topics
  • Supply chains
  • Research units
  • Collective research tools
  • Research results
• Teaching & training
  • PhD training
  • Higher education
  • Available training
  • Offre de formation
  • Scientific experience
  • E-learning
  • Grants
• Innovation & expertise
  • Partnerships for innovation
  • Skills and expertise
  • Products and services
  • Technology transfer
  • The CIRAD VIP newsletter
• Publications & resources
  • Documentary resources
  • Publications
  • Science for all
  • Website Directory
  • Vidéos

OryGenesDB, discovering the function of rice genes

The complete rice genome sequence has now been mapped. It comprises 40 000 to 60 000 genes. The next step is to determine its biological function, through functional genomics studies. To facilitate these studies, CIRAD has recently set up a database, containing all the essential information on the rice genome, in particular the flanking sequence tags (FSTs) around the integration sites of mutagenes present in insertion mutant collections. These tags serve to pinpoint gene functions by linking the gene and the phenotype directly, in a reverse genetics approach.

Genes involved in coffee quality

Sucrose plays a vital role in coffee organoleptic quality. A team from CIRAD and the Agricultural Institute of Paraná (IAPAR) in Brazil has recently identified the genes responsible for sucrose accumulation in coffee beans. This is a new step along the way to producing exceptional coffees.

Sugarcane smut: genetic diversity of the fungus and genetics of resistance

Smut is found in every zone in which sugarcane is grown, except for Papua New Guinea, which strangely enough is where the ancestral domesticated species Saccharum officinarum originated. Recent studies have provided a clearer picture of the genetic diversity of the fungus and the genetic determinism of sugarcane resistance.

Vanilla aroma and images

During fruit ripening, the glucovanillin that has accumulated in green vanilla beans is hydrolysed by a glucosidase, which releases vanilla aroma. However, there is some debate about the location of these two compounds within the bean. Using cellular imagery and the latest spectral deconvolution techniques, it will now be possible to identify these two metabolites very precisely in situ, and eventually to improve bean postharvest processing techniques.

Silicon boosts sugarcane resistance to borers

The African stalk borer Eldana saccharina is one of the main sugarcane pests. A study by CIRAD and SASRI, in South Africa, has shown that silicon plays a role in sugarcane resistance, by triggering its natural defences, and that this role is more pronounced in the event of water stress. This work has opened the way for a new agrobiological control method.

At-risk landscapes and tsetse fly behaviour: the bases for vector control strategies

In sub-Saharan Africa, animal trypanosomoses transmitted by tsetse flies have considerable economic consequences for the animal production sector. To control these diseases, it is vital to understand the ecology of tsetse flies, and particularly the factors that affect their vectorial capacity. Studies are under way, primarily in Burkina Faso, to determine these factors.

A fruit and vegetable polyphenol composition table

Polyphenols, which are primarily found in fruit and vegetables, are the object of growing interest for their potential role in preventing certain diseases. However, there had never been a table giving the polyphenol compositions of foods eaten in France, until a vast project was launched to produce such a tool, to be used in future epidemiological studies.