Biotechnology of Fruit Trees Group
• Production of high quality early-ripening peach and nectarine by using “embryo rescue”.
• Development of a genotype-independent procedure to transform into Prunus and into other woody species.
• Evaluation of constructions that allow the elimination of marker genes and the production of marker-free transgenic plants.
• Evaluation of alternative selection strategies to avoid using antibiotic resistant genes.
• Transformation of commercial apricot trees with pathogen-derived genes to induce resistance to sharka virus by gene silencing.
• Transformation of commercial apricot trees with genes involved in the systemic resistance to produce plants resistant to fungus and bacteria.
• Transformation of Walnut (Juglans hindsii x J. regia, cv. Vlach) to induce resistance to crown gall.
• Physiological and biochemical bases of Prunus-plum pox virus interaction. Function of anti-oxidative metabolism.
• Using environment-friendly treatments to increase tolerance to environmental stress in plants.
• Studies of proteins expression by means of proteomic techniques.