QUT Professor Peter Prentis will lead a $2.2 million study to investigate the genetic basis of several traits, including disease resistance and plant growth habits in citrus.
QUT researchers will work with members of the CRC Future Food Systems and Superior Production PTY LTD on the project titled, Elucidating the genetic basis of disease, dwarfing, seedlessness, and early flowering in citrus through genomic approaches.
Professor Prentis, from the QUT School of Biology and Environmental Science and Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, said Australia's $1.3 billion citrus industry was threatened by new diseases and labour shortages.
© QUT
"To remain globally competitive, Australia's orchard industries must undergo a transformation to produce disease-resistant varieties compatible with high-density orchards," Professor Prentis said.
"Genetic solutions to the various challenges are critical for the long-term viability of the industry.
"The cost of labour, pest and disease management are steadily rising while grower returns rarely reflect these cost increases.
"We need disease-resistant varieties that flower and fruit more consistently at a young age to speed up returns for farmers and production companies.
"We will incorporate whole genome sequencing with existing breeding approaches, such as induced mutation breeding, that have a track record of use in citrus orchards."
Professor Prentis said the project would focus on mutants with traits such as dwarfing, seedlessness, and early flowering using commercial partner Superior Production's Australian mutation breeding program.
"We will characterise the genetic basis of these production traits for the development of new varieties," he said.
"An aim of the project is to discover and validate resistance genes to Huanglongbing (HLB), which threatens citrus production globally.
"To do this, we will use Superior Production's mutant varieties that are planted and phenotyped at their US research farm."
The research team comprises Professor Prentis, Dr Ben Dugdale, Mr Zach Stewart, a PhD student from QUT School of Biology and Environmental Science, Joanne Simpkins, Maiko Kato, Georgie Stephan, and Dr Jiyuan An, all from QUT, in partnership with Dr Andrew Miles and Craig Pressler from Superior Production.
For more information:
Niki Widdowson
QUT
Tel: +61 (0) 7 3138 2999
Email: [email protected]
www.qut.edu.au
