JUNE
2023
Human capacity development of department “Crop Quantitative Genetics” at CPSBB
- By the middle of 2023, the core members of the NatGenCrop team, led by Dr. Saleh Alseekh, have already been selected and the work on the experiments for the first year of the project has been initiated.
SEPTEMBER
2023
The NatGenCrop team cultivated hundreds of tomato and pepper varieties for analysis
- The NatGenCrop team cultivated hundreds of tomato and pepper varieties for analysis, both in greenhouses and experimental fields. One panel of genotypes, intended for genome-wide association studies (GWAS), included 180 pepper and 152 tomato lines. In addition, 2 BILs populations (backcrossed inbred lines), comprising 56 tomato lines and 110 pepper lines, were also grown and analyzed in the greenhouse.
OCTOBER
2023
Detailed phenotypic analysis of the plants was carried out
- Detailed phenotypic analysis of the plants was carried out in terms of height, diameter, stem thickness, flowering time, weight, yield and fruit size. Other notable traits, such as presence of top rot and other diseases, were also analyzed. Leaves were sampled for metabolic and elemental analysis at the flowering and fruiting stages. Fruit samples were collected as well.
DECEMBER
2023