-omics technologies at the service of plant breeding
Plant breeding nowadays relies a lot on plant genomics especially due to the advances in DNA sequencing. Today many plant species have their genome sequenced even the more complex ones like corn and wheat. On the other hand, RNA sequencing helps the comprehensive study of gene expression under different growth conditions. Furthermore, molecular breeding speeds up and facilitates the breeding process. Our scope is to integrate the recent advances in -omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomics,epigenomics) in the IPBGR's well-established and very successful, over the decades, breeding programmes. We are focusing on the use of molecular markers for breeding in wheat, barley and various vegetables. We aim to extent our research in the use of genotyping-by-sequencing for the identification of useful genetic variation in our special germplasm.
Plant grafting interactions
Plant grafting is a sustainable and environmental friendly technique used today in agriculture to grow vegetables, aiming principally at the improvement of yield under stressful soil conditions. However we still do not know much about the molecular interactions between grafting partners, the rootstock and the scion. We have previously observed phenotypic changes when grafting peppers of different fruit shape, changes that were stably inherited to the next generations. We have shown that the genetic profile of the next generation's seed grafting progenies was more similar to the scion genetic profile and less similar to the rootstock profile indicating that some minor genetic changes occurred in the scion during grafting (Tsaballa et al, 2013). However, in the light of the new knowledge on rootstock - scion communication that involves trafficking of small RNAs, mRNAs and other molecules, we are further exploring the molecular interactions in grafted plants of families like Cucurbitaceae. We are particularly interested in the elucidation of the role of genetic and epigenetic factors and regulators governing rootstock-scion interactions. Our focus on plant breeding entails understanding the molecular "talk" that goes on in grafted plants in order to make better rootstock - scion combinations and improve the yield and quality of grafted vegetables.
Safeguarding Greek biodiversity
Greece is a hotstpot of biodiversity. The vascular flora consists of nearly 6,000 species. The Balkan Botanic Garden of Kroussia (BBGK) Mountains in Macedonia, Greece, and the Garden of Environmental Awareness of our institute, IPBGR, in Thessaloniki, Greece (both part of HAO-Demeter) preserve more than 1,500 plant accessions that belong to more than 1,000 cultivation taxa. We are aiming at providing plant accessions with molecular identity and creating of a database that will include phenotypic, taxonomic and molecular data for each entry.
Analysis of the transcriptome of a wild and invasive Solanum species, Solanum elaeagnifolium
Solanum elaeagnifolium is an invasive plant species introduced in Greece the last 70 years. It belongs to the Solanceae family that also includes tomato, potato, pepper and tobacco. It is considered a noxious weed and causes huge problems to farmers and gardeners. Like many plant species of this botanical family, it comes from America but transferred all over the world easily. It is widespread in the Mediterranean basin. It is very resistant to drought mainly because of its extended underground network of roots that also helps it to survive winter and grow back in spring from regenerating buds. It produces a plethora of secondary metabolites and one particular group is terpenes. Terpenes are important phytohormones and photosynthesis pigments but more importantly mediators of plant’s interaction with a variety of biotic and abiotic factors. We have previously reported the leaf and flower transcriptome of this species (Tsaballa et al, 2015). Functional characterization of genes isolated has shown that they produce valuable terpenes. In collaboration with the Institute of Applied Biosciences (CERTH, Greece) and Dr Anagnostis Argiriou, we are now working on the sequencing and analysis of S. elaeagnifolium's roots transcriptome. We are particularly interested in exploring the gene networks that contribute to the production of metabolites related to species' interaction with the surrounding environment and to its tolerance against abiotic and biotic stresses.