Molecular Biology Unit (UBM)

The Molecular Biology Unit (UBM) works on the identification and adaptation of new applications and technological innovations in the field of Molecular Biology, and in order to respond to the needs and demands of the business fabric.

At the equipment level, the UBM has state-of-the-art technology among which stands out a state-of-the-art massive sequencing equipment with the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (PGM) system, which allows to detect variants by sequencing specific genes with higher performance and precision , or the NGS (Next generation Secuencing) system that allows nucleic acid sequencing. The unit also has qPCR equipment and a digital PCR system, which allows ultrasensitive and absolute quantification of nucleic acids. It is particularly useful for low-abundance targets, allelic variants (SNPs), and for monitoring subtle changes in gene expression levels in complex environments, which cannot be detected with real-time PCR (qPCR).

For several years the UBM of ANFACO-CECOPESCA has opted for the investigation of new ingredients and foods in relation to their effects on living organisms, as well as the maintenance of food safety standards. The main applications of these technologies are related to the evaluation of gene expression – transcriptional changes – depending on the test conditions (feeding; presence of other species; environmental changes), in cellular, animal and human models. In relation to foods and functional ingredients, transcriptomics is a powerful tool that allows evaluating the changes induced in the levels of gene expression by a specific ingredient or food, being able to globally visualize the metabolic pathways on which it is exerting its effect.

As for the techniques used to study the transcriptome, the most widely used have been microarrays, in which millions of RNA molecules are quantified at the same time. In the last decade, arrays have been almost replaced by techniques based on next-generation nucleic acid sequencing (NGS). In fact, at present messenger RNA sequencing is the most widely used technique for transcriptomic studies, since it can detect the expression of both known and unknown genes, in addition to quantifying the levels of expression directly, and not indirectly, as is done in arrays.

Among the applications that can be carried out in this infrastructure are the evaluation of the effects of ingredients and functional foods in terms of modulation of stress, inflammation or immune response, or the effects of probiotics and prebiotics by evaluating changes in the bacterial flora (metagenomic studies using NGS technology). Characterization of the microbiota. Identification of infectious agents (bacteria, viruses), and last but not least, evaluation of the quality and traceability of raw materials and food products.