Systems and synthetic biological approaches to understand susceptibility and engineer resistance to soft rot Pectobacteriaceae in potato (S. tuberosum)

Project: PhD

Project Details

Description

Soft rot Pectobacteriaceae (SRP) is a serious problem in potato cultivation which is mainly caused by representatives of the bacterial genus Pectobacterium and Dickeya. Currently, SRP is thought to lead to a loss of 22 M€ annually in seed potato cultivation in the Netherlands. Losses are due to downgrading and rejection of seed lots, costs to prevent SRP spread during harvest, storage and multiplication. The complexity of the SRP problem is caused by different bacterial species and subspecies and also by the ways in which the pathogens (as inoculation source) can infect the plants (aerosols, by splashing and rain, insects, flooding) which can also result in the different plant organs showing different susceptibility levels (soft rot, blackleg, slow wilt). Therefore, breeding for resistance has not been very successful. In this project, we pursue a combined approach to in order to reduce susceptibility and enhance resistance to SRP in potato. In terms of reduced susceptibility, we will target susceptibility (S) genes and deploy them in a non-GM way. High throughput bioassays for the different infection routes and stages will be deployed and further developed. The aim of this study is to reduce susceptibility through targeted S genes removal and identification and elimination of high susceptibility genetic resources from the breeding pool.
StatusActive
Effective start/end date1/07/21 → …

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