Overview

The research at the Plant and Animal Genomics Programme is mainly focused on understanding the organization, evolution and variability of the genomes of crops and domestic animals, unveiling their domestication process and elucidating the genetic basis of traits important for crop and livestock improvement.

The Programme is structured in six research groups, which routinely use a wide range of genetic, genomic, paleogenomic, bioinformatic, statistical, population genetics and phenotypic approaches in crops such as melon, peach, apple, strawberry and wheat, and livestock species such as pig and goat, among others. We develop bioinformatics methodologies and software tools for genome data analysis. We also apply gene editing technologies for the functional validation of candidate genes for traits of interest. 

The main objective of the Plant and Animal Genomics Programme is translating genomic information into phenotypes, for this reason some of our research activities are applied to commercial breeding programmes in collaboration with private companies and public institutions.