Date: Monday, September 30, 2024
Time: 3:00 pm
Speaker: Dr. Massimo Iorizzo
Title: Leveraging genetic and genomic resources to improve quality, nutritional and health related traits in fruits and vegetables (RPT seminar)

Location (Hybrid): 121 Kilgore Hall
Join Zoom Meeting: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/94324057409?pwd=Ao4C0lzUIb3XDuQpnQ1Gis6h12s4sN.1
Meeting ID: 943 2405 7409
Passcode: 092011

 Seminar_Massimo Iorizzo_9.30.24.pdf

In the last decade, the application of marker-assisted breeding (MAB) has become a cost effective technology for crop improvement programs. As the application of the technology requires significant investments to generate genomic resources and extensive training, MAB is available primarily for raw crops (eg. corn, rice, soybean), and the maximum value breeding traits such as yield and resistance/tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Resources to perform MAB are still limited for specialty crops (largely fruits and vegetables) and traits such as fruit quality, in particular health-promoting compounds (bioactives), which can add nutritional and economic value to the final product.

To address this gap, Dr. Iorizzo’s program focuses on establishing genomic resources and elucidate the genetic control of quality characteristics including the production of health related compounds in fruits and vegetables. Target crops in Dr. Iorizzo’s research program include carrot, blueberry, banana, pineapple, spinach, sweetpotato and cranberry. His team has established high quality reference genomes for most of these crops and elucidated the genes that control the accumulation of health related phytoactive compounds (e.g. anthocyanin), factors affecting their bioaccessibility or stability as a natural product (e.g. colorants), and dissected the genetics of traits associated with taste (e.g. organic acids, sugars, texture). He has been director, co-director or investigator of 25 projects, including multiple multi-state and multi-disciplinary projects, that focused on the development of advanced molecular resources around his target crops. Through these projects he establish a large collaborative network with national and international, public and private organizations. Outcomes of his research are contributing to expand DNA and phenotyping resources to efficiently select fruits and vegetables with improved quality characteristics.

As a candidate for promotion to Full Professor, Dr. Iorizzo will provide an overview of his program accomplishments and a vision of his future research directions at NCSU.