In an investigation that lasted four years, a group of ten Colombian, Uruguayan and Chinese scientists reported to the world the genome of the bocachico, which is the most consumed fish in Colombia. The research was published in the journal Frontiers in Genetics.
The bocachico is an endemic species of the Atrato, Magdalena, Sogamoso, Cauca and Sinú rivers, and is listed as a vulnerable species in the Red Book of Freshwater Species of Colombia.
The investigation began in 2019 and allowed to know the genetic material of the bocachico, which has been affected by overfishing and the contamination of the rivers it inhabits.
“We started by capturing, sampling the fish in different bodies of natural water where it lives and, finally, we were able to extract the brain from a female specimen,” explained the biologist coordinating the research, Jonny Yepes.
As this is one of the species that is most used to repopulate rivers in the country, with the genome, universities in Colombia and the world will be able to carry out more in-depth research that facilitates its reproduction.
“For example, research in production, nutrition and reproduction that will allow me to develop more advanced technological packages to guarantee the survival and sustainable use of the species,” said biologist Yepes.
“In the swamp it has a flavor, but as it migrates, because it is a migratory species, it goes up the rivers, the fishermen call them that it washes away, so it has a different flavor,” said Ana Lucía Estrada, a biologist on the team. Isagen environment.
The study was paid for by Isagen, in agreement with Piscícola San Silvestre, which joined efforts to study and protect the native species of the Colombian Magdalena Medio region.
The bocachico is a species for which there is limited genetic and genomic information key to conservation and repopulation initiatives.
The biologist Jonny Yepes Blandón argued that this report of the bocachico genome is the first reference on which the following assemblies will be able to work to improve the information, as happened with the human genome, whose first report was published in 2001 and after years of corrections. , only in 2022 was the definitive version of the genome obtained.