In a pioneering initiative in Brazil, the University of Sao Paulo is studying the viability of in vitro cultivation of two threatened bivalve mollusk species in order to use some of them for producing freshwater pearls. Larvae of the Anodontites trapesialis and Diplodon rotundus gratus will be introduced in rivers in Sao Paulo state. The two species are endangered because of water pollution, the construction of dams and the presence of invasive species.

“The production of pearls would begin in four or five years, when we complete the research and repopulation phase, and we are assured that the project doesn't hurt the environment,” biologist Ricardo Cunha Lima, author of the research, told Tierramérica.

Freshwater pearls cost less, and are less shiny and darker colored than saltwater pearls.