Cloning of downy mildew resistance genes in grapevine

Supervisor: Gabriele Di Gaspero

Udine is located in the heart of a dynamic viticulture region. A grapevine breeding program has been launched by the University of Udine in 1998 with the support of local wine industry and grapevine nurseries with the aim of selecting new varieties that resist the prevalent disease in the area – downy mildew – with limited spraying of fungicides. Basic research on grapevine genetics and genomics has fostered our breeding program since the completion of the grapevine genome sequencing, with the identification of the major loci controlling downy mildew resistance and the development of genetic markers that facilitate the selection of resistant varieties. These varieties possess the genetic background of the most popular wine grapes (i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon) into which the major resistance gene Rpv3 has been introgressed by conventional breeding. The aim of my PhD is to produce the DNA sequence of the region introgressed around Rpv3 and identify the gene conferring the resistant phenotype. The locus Rpv3 is located in the terminal part of chromosome 18 and the resistant allele is capable to trigger a hypersensitive response that limits the growth of the pathogen. We will be using Illumina technology for sequencing large-insert genomic libraries and we will test the function of candidate genes by Agrobacterium-mediated delivery into a susceptible variety.

Biography and contacts
Serena Foria was born in 1986 in Italy, 2009 Bachelor Degree in Food and Crop Biotechnology and 2011 Masters Degree in Crop Biotechnology at the Federico II University of Naples (Italy). Since 2012 she is a PhD student in “Agriculture Science and Biotechnology” at the University of Udine.

serena.foria@uniud.it
[Phone +39 0432 558633]