{"id":5784,"date":"2026-07-22T11:26:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T09:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/?p=5784"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:07:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T10:07:50","slug":"lleida-is-set-to-become-home-to-a-new-centre-of-excellence-in-genomic-editing-applied-to-cereals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/lleida-is-set-to-become-home-to-a-new-centre-of-excellence-in-genomic-editing-applied-to-cereals\/","title":{"rendered":"Lleida is set to become home to a new centre of excellence in genomic editing applied to cereals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Agrotecnio will lead a pioneering scientific initiative aimed at developing cereals that are more resilient and better adapted to climate change.<\/strong>

The Government of Catalonia will invest 3.65 million euros between 2026 and 2028 to build the new facilities and launch the first lines of research.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lleida will strengthen its position as one of southern Europe\u2019s leading centres for agri-food innovation with the creation of the Centre for Cereal Genomic Editing (CEGC). As part of Agrotecnio, this project will drive the development of new cereal varieties that are more resilient to climate change, more resource-efficient and more resistant to pests and diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya approved an investment of 3.65 million euros for the period 2026\u20132028, aimed at bringing this strategic project to fruition. The funds will enable the drafting of the construction plans, the construction of the new building, and the launch of the first lines of research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new centre will be located on the ETSEAFiV campus of the University of Lleida (UdL), a leading centre for agri-food research and training. This location, the result of the close relationship between the two organisations, will foster collaboration with research groups at the University, Agrotecnio and other stakeholders in Lleida\u2019s innovation ecosystem, thereby enhancing synergies between research, knowledge transfer and the productive sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a clear international focus, the CEGC aims to position Catalonia amongst the leading regions in the application of new genome editing techniques to cereals. The research to be carried out at the centre will enable the development of varieties better adapted to new climatic conditions, requiring less water, fertilisers and plant protection products, thereby contributing to a more competitive, sustainable and resilient agricultural sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tender for the construction project will take place very shortly, whilst the tender for the building works is scheduled for late 2026. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2027, and the new centre is due to open by the end of 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key technology for the cereals of the future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genome editing is one of the technologies with the greatest potential to accelerate plant breeding. Unlike conventional methods, which rely on successive cross-breeding between plants, these tools allow very precise modifications to be made at specific points in the genome to enhance traits of agronomic interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among these technologies, CRISPR<\/a> stands out, as do other state-of-the-art systems such as base editing and prime editing. These techniques make it possible to modify, correct or replace specific DNA sequences with far greater precision than traditional methods and in a considerably shorter time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to these tools, it is possible to develop cereals that are more resistant to drought, high temperatures or disease, more efficient in their use of water and nutrients, and of higher nutritional quality, whilst maintaining safety standards at all times and complying with the European regulatory framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Parliament\u2019s recent decision to move forward with the regulation of new genomic techniques (NGT1) <\/a>presents an opportunity to promote crops that are more resilient, sustainable and better adapted to the challenges of climate change, thereby strengthening the role of research and innovation in the agri-food sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rice, the top priority crop<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The centre\u2019s initial phase will focus on rice, a strategic crop from both a food security and economic perspective, and one of particular importance in Catalonia, with producing areas such as the Ebro Delta and Pals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rice faces significant challenges relating to water availability, soil salinity, climate variability and disease pressure, making it an ideal model for demonstrating the potential of new genome editing techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In subsequent phases, the centre will gradually expand its activities to other crops of strategic interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Agrotecnio will lead a pioneering scientific initiative aimed at developing cereals that are more resilient and better adapted to climate change. The Government of Catalonia will invest 3.65 million euros between 2026 and 2028 to build the new facilities and launch the first lines of research. Lleida will strengthen its position as one of southern […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5784"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5803,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5784\/revisions\/5803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}