Successful Workshop on Genomic tools in berry pre-breeding material organised by BreedingValue project
On the 14 February 2024, the EU-funded project BreedingValue organised a workshop at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAe), in Villenave d’Ornon. More than 120 researchers and breeders from Europe and beyond attended the event online and in person.
The workshop "Genomic tools for berry pre-breeding material: from genome to new berry cultivars” seeked to establish a common understanding basis regarding the application of the different available genomic tools and their importance in increasing the competitiveness of standard and advanced breeding programs.
New genomic tools are fundamental to improve characterization and selection efficiency among berry germplasm by providing new modern genotyping and phenotyping tools for identifying, sharing and disseminating results on factors that impact the resilience, stress tolerance, yield stability and fruit quality. More specifically, applied modern genotyping tools will bring new information on berry GenRes for improving the efficiency of cultivar breeding and ease pre-breeding activities. High throughput genotyping from strawberries, blueberries and raspberries will provide insights on the genetic structure, the marker identification and the gene of interest that take place during the breeding process, including the use of the new breeding techniques (NBTs).
Representatives from the BreedingValue consortium shared their knowledge and their views on the genomic tools currently available and applicable to the berries breeding and biotechnology programs. Additionally, Nahla Bassil of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Steven J. Knapp of the University of California, Davis (USA), joined the event as Scientific Advisors of the project.
For further information about the workshop and access to the presentations, visit the BreedingValue website.
The Workshop on genomic tools in berry pre-breeding material was followed by the BreedingValue 3rd Annual Progress Meeting that took place from the 15th-16th February 2024 at the INRAe campus, near Bordeaux. In the frame of the consortium meeting, all project partners presented their contributions to the different work packages (WP), which led to a discussion on the status of WPs.
Finally, a field visit at BreedingValue partner INVENIO’s research facilities accompanied the events organised in Bordeaux. On the 13th of February 2024 a group of 26 American and European participants visited the fruits and vegetables research and experimentation centre in Douville, France. The first part of the day focused on the work of the strawberry breeding team at INVENIO and the in vitro micropropagation laboratory, followed by a presentation and discussion about INVENIO’s breeding work on raspberries. In the afternoon, the strawberry trials in soilless systems were presented in the glasshouse and under a plastic tunnel.
