We provide routine plant tissue culture services and advanced biotechnological applications for woody fruit trees, in particular grapevine and apple, supporting both plant biology research and traditional breeding.
Horizontal and vertical laminar flow sterile hoods
ISO class 3 hoods with HEPA/ULPA filters with a filtration efficiency up to 99.99%
Growth chambers with light, temperature and RH control
Three chambers, multi-level modules for about 15 m2 usable per chamber. Temperature, relative humidity and light intensity can be set with a wide range of values
Greenhouse with heat, irrigation and light control
Four climatic chambers, 70 m2 benches space, remote control of temperature (air and underfloor heating) and photoperiod, flood and drain irrigation, pollen- and insect-proof nets
In-vitro propagation of valuable clones of grapevine and apple after their in-field selection.
Grapevine micro-graftings
In-vitro micro-grafting for testing the effect of different combinations of rootstock/scion on the physiological response of the grafted plant.
Grapevine somatic embryogenic callus production
Prodiction of stable and homogeneous somatic embryogenic cultures, the preferred tissue for transformation, starting from in-field collected inflorescences (please note: some genotypes may be recalcitrant to initiate an embryogenic process).
Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer
The platform provides independent lines with the desired genetic modification, ready to be acclimatized in greenhouse. The main technology applied to modify genes is genome editing via CRISPR/Cas9 with single or multiple sgRNA.
Applications
Functional characterization of candidates genes
Generation of gain- and loss-of-function mutants in highly transformable genotypes of grapevine and apple. The investigation of the role of a gene in an homologous organism is crucial for every study aimed at proving the function of candidate genes.
Support for viticulture and apple cultivation
The identification of genes with a key role in plant response to biotic and abiotic stress can be further exploited either in traditional breeding programs or by using the state-of-the-art gene editing technology to produce new varieties or clones.
Germplasm conservation and multiplication
In-vitro clonal propagation offer many advantages for the long-term storage of important clones or accessions, such as the maintenance of the desired phenotipe over time, requirements of small space and maintenance work.
Applies new breeding technologies (cisgenesis, gene editing) for functional genomics studies in plants to increase tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress and improve fruit quality.
