Researchers investigate long-lost Swiss oat variety

Information on the genetic make-up of the oat variety "Hatives des Alpes", which was once widespread in the Swiss Alps, has been incorporated into an international oat gene atlas. Researchers hope this information can help develop new oat varieties. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This atlas, published in the scientific journal Nature, collects the genetic information of oat varieties and shows which genes are present in all oat plants and which are specific to individual varieties, explained Swiss federal technology institute ETH Zurich in a press release on Thursday. "The specific genes can be of interest for breeding," explained ETH researcher Bruno Studer, who was involved in compiling the atlas, in the press release. For example, the "Hative des Alpes" variety has genes that make it resistant to certain diseases, as well as genes that make it particularly suitable for cultivation in the Alpine region. "If you know these genes and what they do, you ...