U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Crop Improvement and Protection Research: Salinas, CA
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Pacific West Area Salinas, California Crop Improvement and Protection Research Research





- Mou, Beiquan
- Simko, Ivan
- Richardson, Kelley
- Eriksen, Renee
- 2023
- Publications
- Human Nutrition (107)
- Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement (301)

Research Project: **Location:
                            Crop Improvement and Protection Research** Project Number: 2038-21530-003-000-D
                        
                        Project Type: In-House Appropriated Start Date: Apr 11, 2023
                        
                        End Date: Apr 10, 2028 **Objective:**
                        
                        Objective 1: Develop genetic resources and germplasm resistance to key pests and pathogens and abiotic stresses of lettuce, spinach, celery, and melon.
Sub-objective 1.A: Breed for resistances to fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases and disorders in lettuce.
Sub-objective 1.B: Develop durable resistance to downy mildew in spinach.
Sub-objective 1.C: Improve celery for resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. apii (Foa) races 2 and 4.
Sub-objective 1.D: Breed melon for resistance against powdery mildew, virus, and whitefly.

Objective 2: Develop new procedures and technologies to evaluate and enhance postharvest quality and shelf life of fresh cut leafy greens, especially lettuce.

Objective 3: Improve content and bioavailability of phytonutrients or fiber of leafy vegetables for improved impact on human health nutrition and composition of the gut microbiome.
Sub-objective 3.A: Characterize polyphenol and fiber content among lettuce cultivars.
Sub-objective 3.B: Breed red spinach for improved nutrient content and disease resistance.

Objective 4: Characterize the composition and effects of environment on the microbiota found on leafy vegetables. **Approach:**
                        
                        Objective 1:
Sub-objective 1A: Map major QTLs for resistance to downy mildew using a genome-wide association mapping (GWAS) approach and develop breeding lines with the improved resistance to lettuce drop and downy mildew. Characterize resistance to Fusarium, Verticillium, and Pythium wilts to develop improved lettuce germplasm. Cross corky root-resistant variety ‘Glacier’ and wild species L. serriola to sources of other disease resistance and select for combined resistances to corky root, leafminer, downy mildew, lettuce mosaic virus, tipburn, and horticultural and nutritional traits in different types of lettuce. Characterize resistance to impatiens necrotic spot virus to develop improved lettuce germplasm. Develop controlled environment and molecular assays to characterize tipburn resistance in lettuce.
Sub-objective 1B: Breed open-pollinated (OP) spinach with resistance to all prevalent downy mildew races through crosses in isolators, recurrent selection, and replicated field trials.
Sub-objective 1C: Develop celery germplasm with resistance to Foa races 2 and 4 through disease assays, selection, and self-pollination. 
Sub-objective 1D: Breed western U.S. shipper type melon resistant to powdery mildew races 1, 2, 3.5, 5, and S. Identify and characterize resistance in melon to whitefly-transmitted cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV). Characterize antixenosis to sweetpotato B biotype whitefly in melon.
 
Objective 2: Fine-map the locus for slow decay of fresh-cut lettuce, map QTLs for limited oxidative browning, and develop lettuce breeding lines with high postharvest quality.
 
Objective 3:
Sub-objective 3A: Characterize polyphenol and fiber content among lettuce cultivars to understand genotype x environment interactions and to identify genetically stable high polyphenol cultivars in replicated greenhouse assays.
Sub-objective 3B: Improve the betacyanin content, antioxidant capacity, and downy mildew resistance of different types of spinach through crossing, recurrent selection, and field trials.

Objective 4: Determine the relationships in the phyllosphere community among leafy vegetables, nearby weeds, and the soil microbiota by isolating genomic materials from the phyllosphere and rhizosphere for sequencing.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov