Thesis subject

Comparative genomics and trait evolution of lettuce wild relatives

Establish a robust comparative genomics of cultivated lettuce with its wild relatives for trait and gene discovery which will benefit lettuce breeding. Lettuce breeding is faces many challenges related to pathogen resistance and climate change for which wild relatives provide important diversity.

Start date

30/10/2024

End date

30/12/2028

By combining the genomic data and advanced bioinformatics tools, following projects will be studied:

  1. assemble and analyse the L. saligna genome (a source of non-host resistance) and diversity of additional lines from resequencing data;
  2. assemble and analyse the L. virosa genome (a source of resistance to white flies and for drought tolerance) ) and diversity of additional lines from resequencing data;
  3. identify key non-host resistance genes from L. saligna using transcriptomics and fine-mapping;
  4. establish a comparative genomics framework for Lactuca species and other sequenced Asteraceae species such as sunflower and dandelion.