About the Project

Main objectives

We have two main objectives, both of which aimed at providing novel tools to plant breeders through the enhancement of homologous recombination. We focus on the model plant Arabidopsis, and the crops tomato and maize. 

 

Objective 1: Set up of gene targeting techniques

This project aims at developing gene targeting (GT) as a routine technology for plant breeding.

 

Objective 2: Enhancement of meiotic recombination rates

We aim at controlling meiotic recombination to enhance rates of crossing over between homologous or homeologous chromosomes. Plant breeders use meiotic recombination to break undesirable linkage associations or obtain recombinants with new desirable combinations of genes. An enhancement of recombination efficiency would accelerate breeding cycles and permit the use of smaller breeding populations. This is particularly true for the transfer of traits like resistance genes from wild to domesticated forms of a species - an important task for breeders.

 

As the major components of the recombination machinery are common to somatic and meiotic cells, we are able to address both processes in a synergistic way.

 

Specific scientific objectives of the RECBREED project

1. To enhance gene targeting and meiotic recombination enhancement via DNA Double Strand Break (DSB) induction.
2. To manipulate homology search and heteroduplex formation for increasing rates of gene targeting and meiotic recombination
3. Promoting homologous recombination via stabilization and resolution of recombination intermediates
4. Combining individual gene effects for homologous recombination enhancement.
5. Creating breeding tools: crop plants with enhanced homologous recombination properties regarding meiotic homologous recombination and gene targeting (Tomato and Maize).