THIENE MICROBIAL BIODIVERSITY REGIONAL REFERENCE POINT OF VENETO

In Thiene (VI), at the Institute for Quality and Agri-food Technologies of Veneto Agriculture , there is a microbial collection resulting from research in the microbiological field carried out over the last 30 years of activity. The collection includes several thousand microbial strains representative of the vast genetic biodiversity of the bacterial flora involved in the fermentation of numerous food products in the Veneto region and beyond.

The protection and enhancement of microbial biodiversity are particularly important for the agri-food sector, because it allows the identification and use of microorganisms with properties that improve the technological processes and the characteristics of the products obtained. For example, some lactic bacteria are able to produce exopolysaccharides to improve the structure of yogurt, or bacteria used in the production of cured meats have nitrate-reductase activity, useful for stabilizing the color of the sausages, otherwise obtainable with the use of chemical additives. , or even it is possible to enrich food products with beneficial substances, such as vitamins, using microorganisms capable of producing them.

This is why the Veneto Region , which has recently established with a specific resolution the regional evaluation units on biodiversity of agricultural and food interest for the evaluation of local animal, plant and microbial genetic resources at risk of extinction or genetic erosion for the purposes of enrollment. to the national registry, he indicated Veneto Agriculture and its Institute for Quality and Agri-food Technologies , as the reference structure in the field of microbial species useful for agri-food production.