Gloria De Mori
Fine Mapping of resistance genes to Sharka in apricot.
Supervisor: Raffaele Testolin (UniUD)
Plum pox virus (PPV) is the causative agent of Sharka, an important disease affecting the species Prunus. The resistance to PPV in apricot has been studied extensively in recent years and several research groups have demonstrated the presence of a main QTL conferring resistance located on chromosome 1. The identification of resistance genes to Potyvirus in other species has led to conflicting conclusions, and in this context it’s important to clarify the mechanisms of resistance to this particular class of pathogens.
This work is part of the national research project PRIN-VIRES which aims to develop the tools and strategies for the control of this virus infection. In particular the group to which I have been joined is committed to the identification, isolation, and cloning of genes/QTLs of resistance to PPV in apricot, the characterization of resistance regions using segregating populations and the transfer of the resistance through crosses controlled with the aid of marker assisted selection (MAS).
For this work were used a large population of individuals resulting from the controlled cross Lito (resistant) x BO81604311 (susceptible) and a library of BAC clones of Lito which allowed to saturate the region where there is the resistance with new markers. The aim is to obtain the complete sequence of the entire region through the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of BAC clones selected to produce a minimum tiling path. The complete sequence of the region of interest will be obtained by aligning the BAC contigs on the reference sequences of peach and apricot already available. This activity, once completed, will allow the final prediction and annotation of candidate genes for resistance, enabling to isolate a gene of resistance to PPV in apricot.
Biography and contacts
Gloria De Mori was born in 1989 in Italy. In 2012 graduated in Biotechnology (95/110) and 2014 graduated in Plant and Animal Biotechnology (110/110 cum laude) at Udine University (Italy). In 2014 she entered the PhD school of “Agriculture Science and Biotechnology” at the University of Udine.
[Phone 0432558646]