Vegetable crop breeding

The group is mainly focused on agriculture in a broad sense, aiming at a multidisciplinary approach to specific problems in the agri-food industry. A plant breeding line based on the study of natural variability and the generation of mapping populations and saturated linkage maps of tomato devoted to improve fruit quality traits (organoleptic properties, nutraceuticals, external quality) and on resistance to several pests (spider mites, whiteflies) and diseases (insect-transmitted viruses). A second line is based on the study of the development of the epidermis and cuticle of tomato fruit and their biophysical properties. As the interface with the environment, the cuticle is implicated in several parameters related to fruit quality and fruit shelf-life such as water permeability, mechanical resistance, fruit colour, gloss and texture. The study of the biochemical and biophysical properties of the cuticle allows the identification of their genetic and environmental basis.