Research Topics-GDO

Research Topics

The ornamental sector must undergo significant changes to address the major challenges posed by urbanization, global climate change, and the development of sustainable horticulture in order to comply with the ban on pesticides (in private and public gardens under French law). In this context, the preservation of the genetic resources of perennial plants, their evaluation, and knowledge of their evolution are essential, as is an understanding of their development.

The GDO project is focusing on the genus Rosa to produce fundamental research on genome evolution and genomics of ornamental traits. The project is declined under two main objectives:

-Impacts of evolutionary history, natural selection and human activities on the diversity of the Rosa genus.
-Genetics and genomics of ornamental traits: especially blooming and sustainable resistance.

All resources developed and characterised in these thematics are continuously enriching the BRC RosePom collections and databases. We are collaborating with ornamental sector to develop tools and resources for breeding new varieties (as molecular markers, assay to evaluate resistance level to foliar diseases…).
Challenges faced by breeding companies in ornamental and aromatic and perfume plants are similar, a collaboration with ITEIPMAI, technical institute for aromatic and perfume plants, has started in order to share our expertise.

Contact

Team leader: Fabrice Foucher