Edmund Mach Foundation | |
| Fondazione Edmund Mach | |
 Panoramic view of Edmund Mach Foundation building | |
| Abbreviation | FEM |
|---|---|
| Named after | Edmund Mach |
| Formation | January 12, 1874; 151 years ago (1874-01-12) |
| Type | Foundation |
| Purpose | Agricultural education &Research |
| Headquarters | San Michele all'Adige,Italy |
Official language | Italian |
President | Mirco Maria Franco Cattani |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Istituto Agrario di San Michele all'Adige |
TheEdmund Mach Foundation, formerly theIstituto Agrario di San Michele all'Adige (IASMA),[1] is an agrarian institution andwine academy located inTrentino in north-east Italy. It was founded in 1874, when the TyroleanDiet at Innsbruck[2] decided to open an agrarian school and research station atSan Michele all'Adige, with the aim of improving agricultural practice inTyrol. The Institute has been located within the premises of formerAugustinianmonastery of San Michele then abandoned due to itssecularization in 1807.[3] Thelombardo-venetianenologistEdmund Mach was the academy's first director and the institute developed a reputation for work inviticulture andenology.[4][5]
Its mission today is to provide agricultural education, training and consultancy, and to conduct research and experimentation with the aim of "promoting cultural and socio-economic growth in the agricultural sector and at developing the forestry and agro-alimentary systems, with particular regard for the environment and the safeguard of the territory of the Trentino region".[5] There is also a farm, devoted to grape and apple production, a wine cellar and a distillery.[6]
The institute is home of Italy's most extensiveampelographic collection ofgrape specimens including bothindigenous Italian varieties as well as grapes varieties from around the world. The academy conduct wide scale research into various areas of interest to Italianviticulture andwinemaking including cataloging theDNA profile andgenomic of grape varieties, studying the analysis ofwine aromas and flavors as well the role ofphenolic compounds in wine.[4]In 2007 Velasco et al. completed a 6.5x draft genome of the Pinot Noir clone ENTAV 115 and uncovered a significant number of genes which they purport to encode disease resistance elements.[7]
Another major area of research for the Foundation, is thepheno-genetic improvement ofapples[8] (theirorganoleptic qualities: taste-color-shape-crunchiness-preservation, etc.) and apple trees' architecture (such as output, columnarity, self-cleaning andpest/disease resistance in order to reduce the use ofpesticides). All of this obtained byclassical plant breeding supported bymolecular breeding:[9]DNA sequencing andanalysis.
In the early 21st century, DNA research by José Vouillamoz of the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all'Adige discovered that ancestors ofSangiovese are most likely theTuscan grapeCiliegiolo and southern Italian grapeCalabrese Montenuovo.[10]
During 2007 and 2008, appleDNA sequences (around 13 billion sequencednucleotides) were produced; and in 2009 researchers assembled and reconstructed thegene content and order into the 17 applechromosomes.
The applegenome decodification, published online byNature Genetics,[11] was coordinated by the Foundation E. Mach – Ist. Agrario San Michele all'Adige and is of worldwide interest. The data obtained will allow new varieties of apple to be developed more quickly than with classical breeding, resulting in plants with self-defence mechanisms against diseases and insects and which produce healthier and tastier fruits.[12]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
