Laboratory of Biotechnologies of Vegetable Crops

Head: Prof. Andrea Mazzucato

E-mail: mazz@unitus.it

The Laboratory of Vegetable Crops is equipped with modern scientific instruments to carry out research and didactic activities, focused on genetics and breeding of vegetable crops, including conventional and advanced (biotechnologies) strategies. The most studied species is the tomato; recently, research on Brassica spp. and celery has been undertaken. 

The main research areas are the following:

• Study of genes and mutations affecting the tomato reproductive system. In particular, the mutations conferring parthenocarpy (production of seedless fruits), male sterility (useful to produce seed of hybrid varieties) or autogamy (stigma position inserted inside the staminal cone), aimed at the identification of the involved genes and at the acquisition of knowledge about the underlying mechanisms.
• Analysis of genetic variability through phenotypic (morphological traits) e genotypic (molecular markers) descriptors in populations of vegetable species of interest (tomato, celery, Brassica spp.) to assess genetic distinctiveness, phylogeny and the genetic control of quantitative traits through association analysis.  
• Breeding and diversification of the tomato fruit, mainly using varieties carrying genetic variants affecting pigment composition, including carotenoids (for yellow and orange fruits), flavonoids (for pink fruits), chlorophylls (for brown and green fruits) and anthocyanins (for purple and black fruits) and fruit firmness (delayed ripening fruits), through conventional and biotechnological (genome editing) breeding.