308. DJ Bertioli, ACG Araujo, S Nielen, P Heslop-Harrison, PM Guimarães, T Schwarzacher, S Isobe, K Shirasawa, Leal-Bertioli SCM. 2014. An overview of peanut genome structure. Chapter 6 in Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Peanuts. Eds Nalini Mallikarjuna, Rajeev K. Varshney. Peanut genome structure manuscript Author Version pp. 114-138. CRC Press, Florida. http://www.crcnetbase.com/doi/abs/10.1201/b16872-7 ABSTRACT Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea…
Category: Research
Research in the Molecular Cytogenetics group
Sugar cane and characterization of Saccharum hybrids by molecular cytogenetics with Natalia Melloni
Natália Melloni from UNESP and IAC, Brazil, has been characterizing Saccharum sugar cane hybrids in a collaboration with the molecular cytogenetics group. The title of the project is “Characterization of interspecific hybrids (Saccharum spp x Saccharum spontaneum) by molecular cytogenetics” or “Caracterização de híbridos interespecíficos (Saccharum spp x Saccharum spontaneum ) por citogenética molecular”, and…
Wheat-Thinopyrum introgression work wins prize for Niaz Ali, Hazara, Pakistan
Dr Niaz Ali, Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan works on the introgression of characters from alien species into wheat, having completed his PhD in Leicester in 2012 with Dr Trude Schwarzacher. He presented his PhD work at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology (SEB http://www.sebiology.org/meetings /Valencia/Programmes.html) in the session on Exploiting genetic diversity for…
Preserving genetic resources in agriculture: saffron and other EU projects
Maintaining and developing sustainable uses for agricultural genetic resources is essential for ensuring food security in a sustainable manner. In this report, the outcomes of 17 EU projects on genetic resources in animals, arable crops, forest trees and “fruits, vegetables and spices” is discussed. We were involved with the project on the Saffron Crocus, reported on pages…
Worku Mhiret: Biodiversity and its exploitation in Ethiopian Linseed
Worku Mhiret from the University of Gondar, Ethiopia and Pat Heslop-Harrison (University of Leicester, UK) are working on linseed or flax: measuring the diversity of accessions from Ethiopia and comparing this with varieties from Ireland, Canada and elsewhere. We are also making crosses between lines and between cultivars and wild species of Linum; these are…
Nouf Alsayied: PhD student with Saffron Crocus at the University of Leicester and faculty member Umm Al-Qura University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
My research focuses on understanding the origin and diversity of the genus Crocus (Iridaceae), with particular emphasis on a triploid sterile plant, Crocus sativus (2n=3x=24) that yields Saffron, one of the most expensive spices on earth. The saffron is the stigmas of the flowers, and nearly 200,000 must be collected to give 1kg of spice,…
The origin of saffron: Crocus sativus
Our research projects are studying the origins and diversity in several polyploid crops: banana, wheats, Brassica, Panicum millets, Nicotiana and the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus. The spice saffron is the stigmas of the flowers, and widely appreciated in Indian and Mediterranean cooking. Saffron crocus is a sterile triploid, with 2n=3x=24 chromosomes – that is, 3…
Superdomestication, feed-forward breeding and climate proofing crops
Climate Proofing of Food Crops, through genetic improvement for adaptation, is an important, medium-term, objective to ensure food-security and increase production while enhancing the sustainability of agriculture. The IAEA has a Coordinated Research Project discussing this topic (archive version). In the YouTube video here, I discuss some of the challenges plant researchers are addressing, and…
Opportunities in the molecular cytogenetics group
There are many opportunities to join the molecular cytogenetics research group for various periods, to develop new projects, complement or add data to existing projects, or gain training whether as post-doctoral and sabbatical visitors or as PhDs. In ‘management speak’ we are ‘research and training suppliers’ and not ‘funders’, so almost all the people in the group…
Alien chromosome introgression transferring characters into bread wheat
In situ hybridization is now widely used to identify the nature and size of chromosome, chromosome arm and chromosome segment introgressions from alien or wild species in plant breeding lines. The molecular cytogenetics research group has several projects investigating introgression of chromosomes into wheat from rye, Thinopyrum (2x and 6x), Aegilops and other species or…
Molecular cytogenetics, genome evolution and agricultural genomics 