[SCAN] In search of molecular markers for graft (in)compatibility

Scan Seminar

Title: In search of molecular markers for graft (in)compatibility

Speaker: Pedro Fevereiro

From: Plant Cell Biotechnology Lab, ITQB
 

Abstract:

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera subsp vinifera) grafting is mandatory to guaranty the survival of cultivars in the Europe. This is due to Philloxera (Viteus vitifoliae) an insect that kills the plants attacking their roots. The way to avoid this plague is to graft European cultivars in rootstocks resistant to the insect. Vine rootstocks are hybrids of other vine species and compatibility between rootstocks and scions is not perfect. One of the problems faced by grapevine producers is the late incompatibility, only detectable in the vineyards three and more years after the establishment. We are using next generation sequencing to identify molecular markers that could precociously identify the incompatible pairs. At the same time we will describe the molecular paths associated with the grafting process. Some aspects of this ongoing research will be presented.