PGC Agriculture

18/08/2026

24/07/2026

Congratulations to the Philippine Delegation to the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) 2026 in Lithuania! 🇵🇭🧬

PGC-Agriculture is incredibly proud of each one of you. May this achievement be just the beginning of even greater discoveries and contributions to science.

Congratulations, Team Philippines! Mabuhay kayong lahat! 🌱🔬🇵🇭

🌿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗱 (𝗜𝗕𝗢) 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲! 🇵🇭

📍 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀, 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮 | 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟮–𝟭𝟵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

The Philippines proudly celebrates another milestone in international science as our young biologists showcased their knowledge, determination, and passion at the 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗱 (𝗜𝗕𝗢) 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. Competing alongside some of the brightest students from around the world, our delegates demonstrated outstanding excellence and brought honor to the country.

🏅 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗕𝗢 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗲𝘀

🥈 𝗠𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗚. 𝗟𝗲𝗲 – 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹 (39th place out of 301 participants worldwide)
📍 Philippine Science High School – Main Campus

🥉 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗢. 𝗔𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿 – 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹
📍 Philippine Science High School – Main Campus

🥉 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗞. 𝗟𝗶 – 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹
📍 De La Salle University – STEM

🌟 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗼 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗥. 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇 – Philippine Delegate
📍 Philippine Science High School – Ilocos Region Campus

Your achievements reflect countless hours of preparation, resilience, and a genuine love for biology. You have inspired the next generation of Filipino scientists!

We also extend our deepest appreciation to the leaders and mentors whose dedication made this achievement possible.

𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽
• 𝗗𝗿. 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗟. 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇 – Team Leader / Country Coordinator
• 𝗠𝗿. 𝗘𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗕. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝘀 – Head Mentor

A special thank you to our exceptional training pool of national coaches for generously sharing their expertise across different fields of biology:

🧬 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆
• Mr. Edward Kevin B. Bragais (Ateneo de Manila University)

🦴 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀
• Ms. Abby Escobar (University of Santo Tomas)
• Mr. EZ Peralta (University of Santo Tomas)
• Mr. Kent Sorgon (Ateneo de Manila University)
• Dr. Emman Delocado (Ateneo de Manila University)

🌱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆
• Don Emanuel Cardona (Philippine Genome Center)
• Roneil Christian Alonday (Philippine Genome Center)
• Weljane Lou Mantalaba (Philippine Genome Center)
• Kaito Furusho (Philippine Genome Center)

📝 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁-𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀
• Ms. Karen Natera (Ateneo de Manila University)

This accomplishment is a testament to the power of collaboration among students, mentors, universities, and research institutions working together to nurture scientific excellence.

Congratulations once again to 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀! 🇵🇭 Your achievements are a source of pride for the nation and an inspiration to future generations of Filipino biologists.

𝙈𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙝𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙮𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙋𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙤! 🌿🔬🇵🇭

20/07/2026

𝔹𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕪(𝔸) 𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕡𝕥—𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕘𝕖!

Nominate a deserving PSBMB-SLC Board member for the 2026–2027 term. Nominations are open until July 25!

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the 2026 PSBMB-SLC Board of Directors Nomination (One Vacant Position) for the 2026–2027 term.

Lifetime Members and Regular Members in good standing as of the 52nd PSBMB Convention in Nueva Ecija are eligible to vote, be nominated, and be elected.

You are invited to nominate one (1) qualified member from the list provided.

09/07/2026

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.

The Bioinformatics Team of the Philippine Genome Center Program for Agriculture participated in the Strengthening Cyberbiosecurity Safeguards within Genomic Research Institutions in the Philippines workshop held on 6–8 July 2026 in Manila.

𝑻𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉.

08/07/2026

📌NEW PUBLICATION📌

𝓑𝓪𝓬𝓴2𝓑𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓟𝓾𝓫𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓗𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼

Article:
𝐂𝐡𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐧 (𝘿𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙖 𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐞): 𝐀 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭

We are excited to share our new publication in Agricultural Science Digest entitled “Chloroplast Genome and Phylogenetic Analysis of Katmon (Dillenia philippinensis Rolfe): A Philippine Endemic Fruit” authored by Jairus Jake M. Lucero, Judy Ann M. Muñoz, Lyka Y. Aglibot, Don Emanuel Cardona, Lavernee S. Gueco, Aprill P. Manalang, Jeric C. Villanueva, and Roneil Christian S. Alonday, a joint research output of the MOTIF PH Project (DOST-PCHRD funded) of Philippine Genome Center Program for Agriculture and National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory - Institute of Plant Breeding from the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

This study reports the complete chloroplast genome of katmon, characterizes its gene content, SSRs, and codon usage, and clarifies its phylogenetic relationships within Dilleniaceae—providing a foundational genomic resource for germplasm characterization, conservation, and future breeding of underutilized Philippine fruit crops.

Link to the article: https://arccjournals.com/journal/agricultural-science-digest/DF-823

08/07/2026

📌NEW PUBLICATION📌

Article:
𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙨 𝐜𝐯. 𝐈𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐚

We are delighted to announce that our team from the University of the Philippines Los Baños led by PGC Agriculture, Institute of Plant Breeding and Institute of Crop Science has a new article published in Frontiers in Plant Science authored by Roneil Christian S. Alonday, Julianne Vilela, Damsel C. Bangcal‑Villariño, John Ivan I. Pasquil, Kaito O. Furusho, Adrian Sam Arcillo, Maiah Cheng, Maria Genaleen Q. Diaz, Antonio G. Lalusin, and Antonio C. Laurena.

This study presents a high-quality genome assembly and comprehensive functional annotation for the abaca cultivar Inosa, providing new insights into fiber-related genes and repeat landscapes, and expanding genomic resources for abaca breeding, fiber quality improvement, and resilience to stress.

Congratulations to the whole team, and most especially to the Filipino farmers!

Link to the article:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1866360/full

03/07/2026

𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑃𝐺𝐶-𝐴𝑔𝑟𝑖, 𝑡𝑎𝑜𝑠-𝑝𝑢𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑖 𝑘𝑎𝑦 Weljane Lou Pagaduan Mantalaba 𝑠𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑠 𝑛𝑔 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑗𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑀𝐵𝐵!

𝐴𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑎 𝑖𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑔, 𝑑𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑘𝑎𝑠𝑦𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑚𝑎𝑚𝑎ℎ𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑎 𝑠𝑖𝑦𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑦𝑎. 𝐼𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑚𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑘𝑖 𝑘𝑎 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑘𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑡𝑎 𝑝𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑖 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒋!

03/07/2026

Sa bawat tanong na inyong sinagot at sa bawat tuklas na inyong ginawa, mas lalo ninyong pinalawak ang kalawakan ng ating kaalaman. ✨

Binabati ng Philippine Genome Center Program for Agriculture ang aming mga thesis students! Nawa’y magsilbing gabay ang mga bituin sa bawat bagong landas na inyong tatahakin—𝑑𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑙 𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑦𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑘𝑜𝑏 𝑛𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑜𝑑 𝑛𝑎 𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑘𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛✨✨

Congratulations, graduates!
Amaze✨! Amaze✨! Amaze✨!

03/07/2026

🧬📜 Preparation for the 2026 International Biology Olympiad (IBO)

On June 29-July 1, PGC-Agriculture conducted a three-day coaching session on Plant Computational Biology & Bioinformatics for Senior High School students from the Philippine Science High School and De La Salle University. The coaching was one component of a two-week training camp held at Ateneo de Manila University to prepare the Philippine delegates for the 2026 IBO in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The coaching introduced participants to the fundamental concepts and practical applications of plant genomics, bioinformatics, and computational biology. Through lectures, hands-on exercises, and case studies, students explored genome annotation, genome browser navigation and variant interpretation, sequence alignment, phylogenetics, quantitative biological image analysis, transcriptomics, and biological pathway analysis.

We sincerely wish you the very best in your IBO journey. Good luck, Sam, Enzo, Shawn, and Men!

27/06/2026

🧬 From discovery to development: the next phase of Philippine ube improvement!

Building on the successful characterization and selection of elite purple yam (ube) germplasm in Phase 1, the project now advances to Phase 2, expanding efforts to accelerate the development and propagation of superior ube varieties through genomics and advanced breeding.

Phase 2 focuses on:
🌱 Whole genome sequencing and genomic analysis of five additional elite ube accessions
🧪 Nutrient profiling to characterize the nutritional quality and value of elite ube germplasm
🌿 Multiplication of selected elite germplasm through field propagation, cuttings, and tissue culture to increase the availability of high quality planting materials

This next phase further strengthens the collaboration among the UPLB Institute of Crop Science (ICropS), UPLB PGC-Agriculture, and partner institutions for a more productive, resilient, and globally competitive Philippine ube industry.

📖 Read the full article below:
https://icrops.uplb.edu.ph/news/re-news/institute-of-crop-science-cafs-and-uplb-philippine-genome-center-for-agriculture-intensify-efforts-to-develop-and-propagate-superior-ubi-or-purple-yam-varieties-through-advanced-breeding-and-genomics/

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA — Professors and researchers from the Institute of Crop Science (ICropS) of the College of Agriculture and Food Science (UPLB-CAFS), in collaboration with the Philippine Genome Center for Agriculture (UPLB-PGC), are intensifying efforts to strengthen the country’s greater yam ...