A team of students from the Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, made another brilliant achievement by winning the Silver Medal in the prestigious 3rd International Conference of Biological Science (ICoBioS) 2024. The achievement was in line with the theme “Recent Updates in Bioinformatics, Synthetic Biology, and Nanobio Science for a Better Future” held at Brawijaya University, Malang, on September 27-28, 2024. This achievement emphasizes UGM’s position in the global scientific arena, especially in innovation and the latest advances in biological science. The team from the Faculty of Biology Universitas Gadjah Mada, consisting of Thoriq Abdul Halim, Tiara Putria Judith, and Salfa Athallah Agtari Nabillah, students of class 2021 under the guidance of Mrs. Ganies Riza Aristya, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., presented a research entitled “Comparative Analysis of DNA Barcodes Based on Nuclear and Chloroplast Genes for Phylogenetic Reconstruction of Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) in Java Island.”
In its presentation, the team discussed the importance of sugarcane (S. officinarum L.) production, which contributes 80% to global sugar production. Although Java Island supplies 61% of national production, Indonesia only produced 2.23 million tons of sugar in 2019, while imports reached 5.46 million tons in 2021, mostly from Thailand. The low yield of sugarcane is caused by the narrowing of genetic diversity due to domestication. Challenged by the complexity of the genome and the difficulty in distinguishing morphological characters, this team used DNA barcoding techniques to analyze genetic variation in sugarcane nucleus and chloroplast DNA. This research aims to identify intra- and interspecific genetic variation among sugarcane cultivars as an effort to improve the identification of superior varieties, agricultural productivity and food security in Indonesia.
The theme and objectives of this research are in line with UGM’s SDGs, particularly in supporting point 2 on ending hunger and improving food security, and point 12 which focuses on sustainable production and consumption, through efforts to increase sugarcane productivity and reduce dependence on sugar imports in Indonesia.
