This projects targets genetic diversity between tomato cultivars that differ in their capability to set fruit under high temperatures. By performing detailed developmental, physiological and molecular characterization of the plants under field as well as controlled stress conditions, we aim at identifying the array of traits and genes that underlie heat-tolerance in processing tomato.
Learn MoreThis project involves screening a population of introgression lines of wild species into cultivated tomato. Under the hypothesis that wild relatives of the cultivated tomato evolved in harsh environments and have evolved to cope well with abiotic stress conditions, we will screen the introgression population under heat stress conditions in order to identify QTL and genes related to heat stress tolerance.
Learn MoreIn this project, we test the hypothesis that particular naturally occurring secondary metabolites have the capacity to reduce stress-induced damage due to their antioxidative capacity. We focus on pollen viability measurements under stress and non-stress conditions, in tomato mutants with altered levels of secondary metabolites in pollen.
Learn MoreRecent advances in the field of epigenetics have revealed a plethora of gene control mechanisms that mediate plant's response to its environment, and could contribute to phenotypic variation. Direct intervention of epigenetic control systems hold the enticing promise of creating new sources of variability that could enhance crop performance. We investigate the involvement of DNA methylation in the epigenetic regulation of heat stress response in tomato.
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